Two lady IS operatives held in Kerala by NIA, more arrests expected

Thiruvananthapuram, 18 August (H.S): While the Taliban was establishing its full control over Afghanistan on Tuesday, a team of National Investigation Agency that flew down to Kannur from Delhi took into custody two young women who were actively involved in mobilizing resources (financial as well as human) for the dreaded Islamic State, a terrorist organization.

In an early morning operation that lasted hardly an hour, the sleuths of the NIA barged into the residences of Shifa Harris and Mizha Siddeeque, took them into custody and presented both of them in front of the Judicial First Class Magistrate, Kannur who granted transit warrant to both the arrested persons.

According to NIA sources, the young women were working for Mushab Anwar and Mohammed Ameen, the IS operatives in India. The women were propagating the IS ideology through social media pages at the instance of their handlers in the IS. Mizha had travelled to Teheran as part of her mission to join the IS and fight along with the terrorists but was sent back by the IS leaders entrusting her with responsibilities to foment trouble in India.

“There are five more hardcore IS operatives at large in Kerala and we hope to catch them soon,” said the NIA officials. Mizha Siddeeque was the ideological head of the cyber wing of the IS operations in Kerala. It was through her more than a dozen youth joined the IS to fight for the promised land and heaven, said an NIA official.

Lok Nath Behera, former chief of the Kerala Police had told the media prior to his superannuation that the State has become a hotbed of sleeper cells of various terrorist organisations like IS and Taliban. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan immediately corrected his police chief by telling that such organizations were not functioning in the State.

But a tour through Northern Kerala proves beyond doubt that Kerala has become a breeding ground for Islamic terrorism. The Islamists have infiltrated into the CPI(M) and are manipulating the decision making process in the party to favor organizations like IS and Taliban. Mohammed Riyaz, the second husband of Veena (chief minister Vijayan’s daughter) has close ties with various Islamic organizations operating in the State as well as the remaining part of the country.

Elamaram Kareem, Rajya Sabha member of the CPI(M) is the party’s link to Jama at e Islami and other Islamic extremist organisations. Though Kerala wears the calm look outwardly, the extremist organizations are bidding time to strike at the right moment. In recent past, many instances of assaults and attacks on doctors have been reported across Kerala and the accused are all from the same religion, an indication of things to come in the past.

According to G K Suresh Babu who authored the pathbreaking book ” In search of roots of Communalism”, the Kerala Police itself has many groups favouring terrorists.” The recent transfer of a deputy superintendent level office from anti terrorist squad to another district, following the findings of departmental probe that he had ties with anti-national forces prove that police were hand in glove with extremist organisations,” said Babu.