The Kerala Anti-Terrorism Squad, in a joint operation with Maharashtra ATS, arrested one person from Navi Mumbai on Thursday for his alleged role in the disappearance of Kerala residents suspected to have joined the Islamic State (IS).
He has been taken to Kochi on transit remand in connection with the disappearance of Mariam and Yahya, one of the 16 couples reported missing from Kerala.
According to police sources, the man, identified as Arshid Qureshi, was arrested from Navi Mumbai under the section 153 A and 34 of the Indian Penal Code, and section 13 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), and produced before a local court in CBD Belapur for transit remand. He was granted transit remand till July 25 and a Kerala ATS team then flew with him to Kochi on Thursday evening, according to a senior ATS source.
“Mariam’s brother had told the Kochi police that Qureshi was responsible for his sister’s disappearance; that’s why he has been taken to Kochi for further investigations,” the source said.
Mariam, a Christian girl who converted to Islam and married her classmate Bestin Vincent alias Yahya, had left home informing her family that she was travelling to Sri Lanka. But security agencies feel they both were part of a larger group that may have travelled to join IS.
Mariam studied in Kochi, but worked briefly in Mumbai. Her family told the police that they found remarkable changes in their daughter during her stint in Mumbai.
In a related development, the Thane ATS unit also detained two men from Kalyan after information emerged that they had sent an e-mail to the IS India unit chief.
