Former Congress MLA's Grandson Arrested in Connection With Kerala Module of Islamic State

Grandson of late Congress MLA B M Idinabba was arrested from Ullal in Mangaluru on Wednesday after NIA raids.

According to a report by Indian Express, Ammar Abdul Rahman, 35, was picked up in connection with the case of a Kerala module of the Islamic State registered in March this year.

Rahman’s niece is believed to have been among the 13 residents of Kasaragod, Kerala, who left the country to join the IS in 2016. In a chargsesheet filed in January 2017, the NIA hinted that Ajmala and her husband Shifas K P left India via Bengaluru on May 24, 2016, and joined IS in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan. Sources said Ajmala is believed to have been killed sometime in 2018. A total of 21 people left Kerala around the time to join the IS.

Meanwhile, the five members of the ISIS module arrested from Karnataka and Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday were involved in spreading ISIS propaganda on social media and influencing the youth for armed Jihad, according to the intelligence sources.

The module was also involved in radicalising Indian youth for armed Jihad, planning targeted assassination of select right-wing leaders, media personalities and mobilising funds for ISIS.

The IS module led by Mohammed Ameen from Malappuram, Kerala was neutralised first in March 2021. After the arrest of three on March 14-15, interrogation of arrested persons as well as data from the seized digital media was meticulously analysed for identification of other members of the module.

The module first came to the notice of intelligence agencies almost a year ago as they were found peddling large volumes of Islamist propaganda on an Instagram Channel, ‘Chronicle Foundation’, with over 5,000 members from across the world. Meticulous analysis of cyber intelligence led to agencies breaking the anonymity of the module members.

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