The NIA said that the 21 missing youths from Kerala may currently be in the Tora Bora mountain ranges of eastern Afghanistan.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has decided to do a background check of clerics and religious scholars in Kerala, who might have influenced 21 missing youths from the state to join the Islamic State (IS). The agency took over the case from the state police last week after the Union government issued a directive on Tuesday. The Kerala police had identified 17 of the 21 being from Kasargod and four from Palakkad. They include four women and three children.
"One of the first things is to identify those who might have influenced the youths and facilitated their travel. There are suspicions that certain individuals might have aided them to leave the state, and, thus, it becomes imperative that such elements are reigned in before they do more damage," said a senior NIA official.
The Kerala police had forwarded the reports on the case to the Centre in accordance with Section 6(2) of the NIA Act, 2008, on August 4. The report stated that the cases involve national and international ramifications, and, hence, fit to be investigated by the NIA.
The probe so far has revealed that 21 persons had left India between May and July this year, taking separate routes to reach IS-held areas in Afghanistan. According to the NIA, some of the 21 had already contacted families in Kerala and told them about their whereabouts. "The missing youths are suspected to be in the Tora Bora mountain ranges of eastern Afghanistan," the NIA official added.
When asked if the agency will treat them as accused, the official said: "We will be able to ascertain the role of each individual only after a preliminary investigation." Three of the women are pregnant, and all are in their twenties. The couples include Dr Ijaz Rahman and wife Resiala, his brother Shiaz Rahman and wife Ajmala and cousin Ashfaq Majeed and his wife.
Ashfaq Majeed, a native of Padanna in Kasargod, contacted his sister on the secure online communication platform Telegram and invited his mother, father and relatives to join him in the "sacred land of the IS". Another missing youth, identified as Mohammed Marwan, 23, also had sent a message to his family saying he had joined the IS.
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