Kerala: National Investigation Agency to probe case of forcible conversion
KOCHI: The National Investigation Agency has taken over the probe into the case related to the forcible conversion of a 25-year-old woman from Pathanamthitta with the intention of taking her to Syria and admit her to the ISIS. The Kochi unit of the agency registered a first information report before NIA special court judge Kauser Edappagath at his residence here on Sunday night. The case was so far probed by the state police which had arrested two persons.
“The NIA headquarters sent a communication to us on Sunday to take over the probe. We’ve sought the investigation documents and also the custody of the two arrested persons from the Kerala police. The majority of the remaining absconding accused are currently abroad and we’ll take the initiative to bring them back to the country,” an NIA officer said. The victim is a native of Ranni in Pathanamthitta, who was brought up in Gujarat.
She met the main accused Muhammed Riyas while studying in Bengaluru in 2014 and had relations with him. The latter allegedly forced her to have sex with him and filmed it secretly. He then began to threaten her and forced her to marry him. Though her parents took her with them, Riyas, a resident of Thalassery, filed a habeas corpus petition before the High Court. She was left with him and the two flew to Saudi Arabia. There he forced her to join a madrasa and allegedly made her watch videos of Islamic preacher Zakir Naik.
He also allegedly used fake documents to get their marriage registered in May 2016. The victim had approached the High Court last year seeking an NIA probe against Riyas for "attempting to take her to Syria and sell her to the Islamic State terrorists as a sex slave." She had managed to contact her father early last year and with the help of his friend, she flew back to Kochi and filed the petition with the court. She is now staying with her parents. Currently, there are 10 accused in the case, two of whom were arrested. The court directed the police to lodge a case and the North Paravoor police registered one after recording her statements.
