NDTV Investigation: Kerala Woman Who Tried To Radicalise Son Married To Terror Convict

An NDTV investigation has unearthed disturbing details in the alleged ISIS indoctrination of a 16-year-old boy from Kerala by his mother and others. What has emerged is a troubling radicalisation attempt involving a former convict in a terror case probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

The boy was taken to London for radicalisation but was sent back when he didn't adopt their mindset, police said.

He was later brought to a madrassa in Thiruvananthapuram by Siddique, a convict in a terror case, the madrassa's teacher said, citing the conversation he had with the child. Siddique had married Fidha Mohammed Ali, the boy's mother, added Ustad Ahmad, the teacher at Almiya Academy, with police sources confirming the same.

This, despite the former convict already having a family, it has emerged.

Kerala Police had earlier identified two suspects in the case: Anzar, who currently lives in Leicester in the UK and is Siddiqui's brother, and Fidha. The FIR described Anzar as an ISIS member who allegedly showed the teenager graphic ISIS murder videos and sought to cultivate hostility toward other religions.

Ahmad said the child told him that both Siddhique and Anzar have extremist views, and he doesn't like the way they were interfering in his life.

"The child told me Anzar has extremist ideology and that he has no interest in remaining in touch with either Siddhique or Anzar. He said he dislikes both and that they interfere (in his life) more than his mother. The child said his mother was a Christian earlier," said Ahmad.

Chairman of Almiya Academy, Shafi Naqvi, confirmed that the child stayed at the madrassa for nearly two months -- from July 3 till August 29. Siddique had brought him there and frequently visited him. He was in charge of the child. The child's mother, Fida, never visited the madrassa claiming that she was in the UK, the chairman said.

"It was a shock for us. We never saw this coming. We never imagined such a situation. Now, I feel the mother was lying to us about being in the UK. We had no clue that Siddhique was earlier convicted in an NIA case. I came to know only two days ago and was shocked," added Naqvi. 

The case came to light after the boy's uncle took him from the madrassa and went to the police station.

Kerala Director General of Police Ravada Azad Chandrashekhar said there was a radicalisation attempt on him in London, but he was sent back after he declined to adopt their ideology.

"There is an allegation that they have influenced him and they tried to radicalise him to adopt the ISIS ideology. When he declined, he was sent back. He and his uncle came to the Vingaramudu police station and gave a complaint. We registered a case under the UAPA, and the police is investigating the case. We are in the initial stages of investigation. We conducted some searches and recovered certain digital items that are being examined forensically," said the top officer.

When NDTV tracked Siddique's family, it was found that he was already married to another woman. They have two children. It was earlier reported that he was convicted in the 2016 Kanakamala ISIS conspiracy case. His brother Anzar was also placed under surveillance during the investigation, but he was not charged since he was living in Ukraine that time, sources said.

The Kerala Police believe the latest case may reflect a wider network, with preliminary indications suggesting sleeper elements linked to the terror group could be functioning in parts of the state.