IS links: Twelve from Kasargod went to Iran

Kasargod: The central agencies probing the disappearance of 17 persons from Kasargod have said  that 12 of them had  travelled to Tehran.  The  central agencies  traced the passport details of the missing  persons and grilled Firos Khan,  hailing from  Thrikaripur Elambachy,  after he was  taken into custody in Mumbai  on Sunday.  The 12 members include Dr Ijas Rahman, his family, Brother Shiyaz Rahman and family and cousin Ashfaq Majid and family.

Abdul Rashid Abdulla, believed to be the main indoctrinator,  is not part of the team. “If the Tehran link is corroborated,  there is little  chance that the  team went to join the IS as Iran is opposed to the extremists.   There is no confirmation  whether Iran was their destination or transit point,” said a special branch officer.

It was said that the 12-member team boarded the flight from Bangalore airport with the ticket arranged through a Kozhikode-based travel agency. Kanjangad DySP  Sunil Babu Kelothumkandy,  who is heading the probe,  is tight-lipped about the probe and said that they had “only commenced the inquiry”.  

The  relatives confirmed that many of the missing persons had recently renewed their passports   to affix  their bearded photos as their belief did not allow them to publish their earlier ones. “Hafizuddin’s passport has validity up to 2018. But he renewed it just to put the new photo with a long beard,” said his relative who requested anonymity. A 20-member special team headed by the Kanjangad DySP  is probing the case.