Less than two years after 15 youth from Kasargod district went missing, Yasmin Mohammed Shaheed, a 30-year-old woman from Bihar and the wife of the main conspirator has been sentenced to seven years of imprisonment by a court in Kerala. She was accused of recruiting 15 people from Kasargod district into the terrorist outfit, Islamic State.
The National Investigation Agency Special Court in Kochi also slapped a fine of Rs 25,000 on Yasmin. This was the first Islamic State related case registered in Kerala in connection with the missing youths from Kasargod. The investigation in the case was ultimately handed over to NIA from the Kasargod police.
As many as 50 witnesses were presented at the court. The same number of material evidences was examined by the court.
Background
In August 2016, Yasmin and her four-year-old son were arrested in Delhi while trying to board a flight from the Delhi airport to Kabul. At the time, she had told the police that she was travelling to a place where true Islam is practiced. Police had also claimed that Yasmin had spent close to two years in Malappuram district, where she taught English at Peace International school. Police say that this was where Yasmin met Abdul Rashid, the main conspirator in the case. Yasmin is Abdul Rashid’s second wife.
Rashid, a native of Pala, was a teacher at the Peace International School and left to Afghanistan with his first wife Ayesha (Sonia) and the others he had recruited in 2016.
The chargesheet submitted by the NIA alleged that Yasmin, along with with her husband Abdul Rashid Abdullah, recruited people from the state to join the terrorist outfit. The chargesheet stated that Yasmin had conspired with Rashid to fight against the countries which have friendly relations with India.
Abdul Rashid, however continues to evade arrest. The NIA suspects now that he is in Afghanistan.
Rashid is also suspected to have lured people of other faiths into Islam and also radicalised non-fundamentalist Muslims.
In November 2017 an audio clip, suspected to be that of Abdul Radhid was posted on a WhatsApp group called 'Light of Kerala'. The clip allegedly had inflammatory messages encouraging attacks on Hindu congregations.
In February 2017 the NIA had filed a charge sheet against two persons for radicalizing missing Kerala youth to join the IS.
In the charge sheet submitted at the NIA special court, Rashid and televangelist Zakir Naik's Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation employee Arshi Qureshi were named as accused.
Rashid was charged under Sections 13 (punishment for unlawful activities), 18 (punishment for conspiracy), 38 (offence relating to membership of a terrorist organisation), 39 (support to a terrorist organisation) of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.