Woman gets 7 yrs in jail for helping 15 people join IS
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Kochi on Saturday awarded seven years’ rigorous imprisonment to Yasmin Ahmed, a native of Bihar, for helping 15 youths of north Kerala to slip out of India and join extremist outfit Islamic State (IS). This is the first verdict in an Is-related case in the state.
Ahmed was arrested from Delhi international airport in July 2016 when she was about to leave the country with her minor son. Later, Kerala police made her an accused in the case of 15 missing persons (total 21) who reportedly joined the IS. The case was handed over to the NIA.
While delivering the verdict, the court said she was aware of the youths’ plan to join IS and helped them. The court examined 52 prosecution witnesses and a defence witness and nearly 50 material objects and found that Ahmed was guilty of waging war against the country.
The prosecution said while Ahmed was teaching at the Peace International School, she came in contact with Abdul Rashid, leader of the missing youth.
Ahmed did ground work for the youth to slip out of the country and was in constant touch with Rashid. She was supposed to leave with the others but her trip was delayed as she could not get travel papers for her son done in time, prosecution said.
Ahmed is reported to be Rashid’s second wife. She was brought up in Saudi Arabia where her parents are settled. She came to Kerala five years ago with her husband Syed Ahmad after getting a job in Peace International School in Malappuram.
Rashid, who used to train teachers there, soon befriended the couple. Later, the husband fell out with her and left the country. After this, Rashid and Ahmed became close. Police zeroed in on her after intercepting her communication with Rashid. They also found that ₹2 lakh was deposited in her account two weeks before her arrest.
At least 21 persons, including six women and three children, had gone missing from Kerala in June 2016 and were reported to have joined IS. Most of them were well educated and came from upper middle class families. At least six were reportedly killed while fighting in Afghanistan.