KOCHI: The Interpol has issued a Blue notice against five youths -- four Keralites and one Karnataka native -- who are suspected to have joined terror groups, Jabhat al-Nusra and Jund al-Aqsa, in Syria. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has also initiated steps to attach the properties of the five accused persons.
In January 2019, the NIA found that a group of Keralites working in Qatar joined the rebel terror groups in Syria, which is fighting the forces in the country. The accused persons were identified as Hashir Uchummel Mohammed from North Paravoor; Siddique alias Sidhikul Akbar from Malappuram; Muhammad Irfan of Vadakkumbad near Thalassery; Thahir Mohammed from Shimoga in Karnataka, and Sultan Abdulla from Mukkom, Kozhikode. They were allegedly radicalised in Qatar. The NIA had earlier sought the help of Interpol to track down these persons.
“Interpol has issued with a Blue notice against these persons to get details about them from Syria. We suspect that some of them have died by now. However, there is no confirmation in this regard. A court in Kochi has also issued non-bailable arrest warrants against these persons,” sources in Ministry of Home Affairs said.
The NIA has approached the court in Kochi to attach the properties of accused persons under Section 83 of CrPC (attachment of property of absconding person). “Procedures to attach the properties of Siddique, Irfan and Abdulla have been completed. The properties of the remaining accused persons would be attached in the coming days,” an official said.
Meanwhile, the NIA has begun initiatives to track down Fayis Farooq of Nattika in Thrissur, who had attempted to join the terror groups in 2013. He allegedly reached the Syrian border but returned. He is suspected to be staying in the UAE now. The court has also decided to bring out a proclamation for person absconding against Farooq under Section 82 of CrPC, after he failed to appear before it despite issuing a warrant.
Jabhat al-Nusra is linked to al-Qaeda in Syria, which is fighting the Bashar al-Assad regime. Jund al-Aqsa was formed in 2012 as a splinter group of al-Nusra. However, the group separated from al-Nusra in 2013. Unlike, Islamic State, these groups are still active in several areas of Syria, fighting the government forces. This is one of the first cases in which youths from India joined the terror groups opposing the IS.