KOCHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) which recently took over the probe into an Islamic State (IS)-related case registered at the Wandoor police station in Malappuram, has revealed the accused persons were linked to those arraigned in another IS case registered at Valapattanam in Kannur.
The Wandoor IS case was registered following a confessional statement by Hamsa U K alias Taliban Hamsa alias Biriyani Hamsa, an accused in the Valapattanam IS case, last November regarding several persons who had migrated to Syria for joining IS.
The NIA had taken over the probe into the Wandoor case on Friday.Shaibu Nihar of Thamarassery; Mansoor of Kondotty; Mansoor of Vadakara; Shahnad of Kannur; Fajid Hamsa of Koilandy; Ashraf Moulavi of Vaniyambalam; Safeer Rahman of Perumbavoor, and Muhadis of Vaniyambalam are the accused in the case.
However, none of the accused has been arrested as they are suspected to be staying in Gulf countries and some likely to be killed in Syria.
According to the NIA, the accused persons in the Wandoor case were in contact with Hamsa during his stay in Bahrain till 2008. In his statement to the police, Hamsa said before joining the IS, the accused persons in the Wandoor case had held a meeting at his house at Thalassery during March-April 2016. Similar meetings were also held at Vaniyambalam and at the residence of Safeer Rahman in Perumbavoor.
Hamsa also claimed they attended classes by Ashraf Moulavi at Al-Ansar Salafi Centre, Bahrain.
After the meetings, Manauf Rahman, an accused in the Valapattanam IS case, and Safeer Rahman, who has been arraigned in the Wandoor case, decided to take their family along with them to Syria.
However, Manauf Rahman was intercepted by Immigration authorities at the Mangalore airport after receiving reliable information regarding his travel to Syria. His arrest forced Hamsa to drop his plans to go to Dubai.
Shaibu Nihar, an accused in the Wandoor case, had also planned to travel to Syria. The documents for the travel were prepared by Manauf and it was sent to Bahrain via Speedpost. However, following Manuf’s arrest, Shaibu did not receive the speedpost, and subsequently, it was returned. Fajid of Koyilandy had crossed the border to Syria in January last year along with Abdul Manaf, the 14th accused in the Valapattanam case, and his family members.
Hamsa claimed Shahnad, Manzoor of Kondotty, Mansoor of Vadakara and Muhadis were killed in Syria.
“The Wandoor IS case registered in 2017 and the Valapatanam IS case are interlinked. In both the cases, Hamsa was the person who motivated others to join IS. Some of the accused persons in the Wandoor case have already reached Syria and a few are reported to be killed while fighting for the IS there. Some are suspected to be staying in Bahrain now,” an NIA officer said.
The NIA will soon approach Interpol to issue red-corner notice against these persons.However, tracking down these persons in Syria will not be an easy task.“We believe more than 50 persons from Kerala have joined IS in Syria and Afghanistan. The exact figure cannot be confirmed now since several Keralites working in Gulf countries have shifted to the IS territories in Afghanistan and Syria,” an NIA officer said.