The arrests have been made in relation with a case of IS recruitment and propaganda
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday arrested two women from Kannur in Kerala claiming that they motivated young people to join the Islamic State (IS) and raised funds for the organisation’s activities on social media.
The women were identified as Mizha Siddeeque (23) and Shifa Harris (27).
In a press release, the NIA said, “Investigation has revealed that accused Mizha Siddeeque is affiliated with ISIS. She had travelled to Tehran [Iran] along with her associates to join ISIS in Syria. On instructions of accused Mohammed Ameen, she had created a page on Instagram to propagate, motivate, radicalise and recruit gullible Muslim youth for ISIS. She had also radicalized other accused in the case namely her cousin Mus’Hab Anwar, Shifa Harris and was motivating them to join ISIS.”
NIA arrests two ISIS operatives in ISIS Kerala Module Case pic.twitter.com/Grsw9zOy71
— NIA India (@NIA_India) August 17, 2021
According to NIA, one of the accused Siddeeque has dropped out of Sharjah University in the UAE where she was studying Islamic Studies after clearing Class XII from Kerala. Another one Shifa is a B.Com dropout from a Kerala college and holds a diploma in teaching.
The agency claimed that the arrests have been made in relation with a case of IS recruitment and propaganda — the agency had registered the case this March. It later arrested one Mohammed Ameen, alias Abu Yahya, and two of his associates from Kerala — identified as Dr Rahees Rasheed and Mus’Hab Anwar — in the case. In August, the NIA arrested four more people, including the grandson of a former Karnataka Congress MLA, for alleged connection with the case.
It also claimed that Shifa Haris, alias Ayesha, has affiliation with the Islamic State and on directions of Mus’Hab Anwar and Mizha, she had transferred funds to J&K resident Mohammad Waqar Lone, alias Wilson Kashmiri, allegedly for supporting IS activities.
