Missing Muslim youths from Kasaragod had opened anti-IS Facebook page!

Kasaragod, Jul 14: Even as reports are emerging on the missing families from Kasaragod and Palakkad migrating to northern Syria, investigations by various Intelligence agencies have not obtained any solid lead to validate the theory.

“We are yet to come across any movement of families between Kerala and Syria for preaching Islamic orthodoxy,'' said a top intelligence officer. A Facebook page Olivin Charathu,' reported to have been opened by the missing persons, has been under active surveillance of the Intelligence agencies.

Interestingly, the Facebook page has openly declared its stance against Islamic State (IS) terror group. “In fact, we are not sure whether it is the same person who opened this page or somebody else,'' the official said.

Meanwhile, the investigators received more complaints about individuals missing from their families under suspicious circumstances. The sleuths launched a probe into the missing of a young woman from Andipillykkavu near North Paravur.

The woman, who had been married off to Varappuzha about six months ago, had left her family later and embraced Islam. As part of the investigation, sleuths met the woman's parents and her former husband to collect their statements.

Official sources said the State police had originally began collecting details about missing persons in Kerala from January this year, based on a warning on youths from Kerala being recruited to terror groups.

NIA deciphering WhatsApp messages

Meanwhile, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs in New Delhi held a meeting on Tuesday to take stock of the situation in the wake of rumours over IS recruitments in Kerala.

The meeting, chaired by Intelligence Bureau Director Dineshwar Sharma, also saw Intelligence chiefs from other States sharing information reportedly relating to modules in the country with suspected IS links.

Kerala's Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence) R. Sreelekha , who attended the one-day session, shared intelligence inputs from the State in this regard, the sources said.

According to sources, Central intelligence agencies have now begun deciphering the Telegram and WhatsApp messages received or are still being received by relatives from the missing youths.

Sources said that the Central agencies are now examining whether the disappearance of 22 persons, mainly from Kasaragod and Palakkad districts, was similar to other cases involving IS handlers in identification, radicalisation, recruitment, training and finally transferring Indian youths to countries such as Syria, Libya and Iraq.