Two more persons suspected of having links with the Islamic State (IS) were arrested here on Thursday, raising the number of those arrested to five.
The two have been identified as U.K. Hamza, 57, and Manaf Rahman, 45, both natives of Thalassery. Hamza has already been identified by the police as the main source of inspiration for the radicalised Muslim youth who have joined the IS.
On Wednesday, the police team led by Kannur Deputy Superintendent of Police P.P. Sadanandan had arrested three youths for their suspected links with the IS.
Remanded
All the five have been arrested under Sections 38 and 39 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. They were produced at the Principal Sessions Court in Thalassery on Thursday and remanded in custody for 14 days.
Mr. Sadanandan told The Hindu that though Hamza had no formal education, he was well-versed in the Islamic scripture, including the Koran and Hadith. He had worked in the Gulf region for over 20 years and returned to his native place a few years ago.
Manaf Rahman had decided to go to Syria to fight for IS after coming into contact with Hamza, he said. Hamza was to leave for Syria after Manaf landed there, police said. Their plan was foiled when Manaf was stopped at the Mangaluru airport by the Central agencies around six months ago. Since then, both had been under police surveillance here.
According to the police, all those arrested, except for Manaf Rahman, showed no distress at their arrest. Manaf, father of four young children, however, was repentant, they said.
