Kerala: Mother and stepfather attempt to lure minor into ISIS; face stringent UAPA charges in Thiruvananthapuram

On 14th November, a fresh case of ISIS recruitment emerged from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, adding to the state’s troubling history of radicalisation attempts. According to media reports, a mother and her second husband have been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act as they attempted to push their 16-year-old son to join the Islamic State terrorist organisation.

An FIR has been registered at the Venjaramoodu Police Station on the complaint of the relatives of the boy, who accused his mother and stepfather of showing him ISIS videos when he was in the UK. An investigation into the matter has been initiated following the FIR and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is also collecting intelligence inputs.

Mother and stepfather pushed teen to join ISIS

According to the police, the boy, who hails from the woman’s first marriage, travelled with her and her second husband, Ansar, to the United Kingdom in 2021. It was during that time the couple tried to push him to join ISIS. The boy told investigators that his mother and stepfather repeatedly showed him ISIS propaganda videos and pressured him to study the organisation’s ideology. They forced him to consider joining the terrorist outfit. The coercion attempts reportedly created friction within the household and the teenager resisted the extremist ideas being pushed on him.

The return to Kerala

After spending several years in the UK, the family returned to Kerala earlier this year. Soon after their arrival, the mother and stepfather admitted the child to a madarsa in Attingal. Media reports quoted unnamed police sources suggesting that the couple then left the country again and the boy stayed at the madarsa.

Behavioural changes noticed at the madarsa

It was at the Attingal madarsa that the first red flags were raised. Authorities at the institution observed a sudden and worrying change in the teenager’s behaviour. There were patterns that deviated from routine conduct and indicated distress. The institution informed the child’s relatives in Kerala and alerted them about the boy’s abnormal behaviour, suggesting he needed immediate attention. This communication became the turning point that eventually brought the matter before the police.

Child’s reletives filed complaint

Following the communication from the madarsa, the boy’s relatives visited him. They were shocked by what he told them about the attempts his parents made to push him to join ISIS. They immediately approached the Venjaramoodu Police Station with concerns about whether the teenager had been exposed to extremist content.

Police swung into action and questioned the child. He directly accused his mother and stepfather of attempting to push him to join ISIS by showing him propaganda videos. His statement became the basis for the UAPA case.

Investigators are being cautious

The FIR has been registered at the Venjaramoodu Police Station under various sections of the UAPA. Superintendent of Police KS Sudarsan said that the FIR has been registered on the teenager’s complaint. The investigators are verifying the claims made by the complainant before moving ahead. As the matter is related to an international terrorist organisation, and considering the previous cases of radicalisation in the state, the investigators are being cautious and carrying out the investigation in a confidential manner to determine if it is related to a broader international radicalisation network.

What teenager’s statement revealed

Kerala Police believe, based on the teenager’s initial statement, that the alleged coercion occurred entirely during the family’s stay in the United Kingdom. The boy told the police that there was repeated exposure to ISIS videos. His stepfather glorified extremist ideology and pressured him to join the terror group.

NIA has begun collecting intelligence inputs

Various units of the state police are mapping the family’s movements, digital activity and overseas associations. Meanwhile, the NIA has begun gathering information at a preliminary level. The agency has not taken over the case as of now. Kerala has witnessed multiple ISIS recruitment attempts in the past decade, and security agencies have been on heightened alert due to inputs suggesting renewed activity among banned organisations.

Kerala’s previous encounters with ISIS recruitment attempts and sleeper-cell alerts

Kerala has remained under the scanner of national security agencies due to repeated instances of individuals joining, attempting to join or being recruited by ISIS-linked networks. From cases involving youth from Kasaragod joining the Islamic State to multiple arrests linked to online radicalisation, the state has been navigating a persistent pattern of extremist influence. Reports of sleep cells active in Kerala also raised concerns in 2021.

The ISIS involvement in Kerala was initially traced in 2013. As early as 2014, ISIS established roots in Kerala, with modules encouraging religious conversions and aiming to attract professionals to join its troops in Afghanistan and Syria. Plenty of Kerala men and women are said to have joined the ISKP (Islamic State of Khorasan Province) in recent years. The United Nations warned in its 2020 terrorism report that there are a substantial number of ISIS terrorists in the Indian state of Kerala.

The banned terrorist organization Popular Front of India (PFI) is by large responsible for making Kerala a hotbed of ISIS recruitments. The radicalization of Muslim youths and the conversion of non-Muslims to Islam was spearheaded by the PFI terrorists. This was also cited in a report filed by the National Investigation Agency in front of a court in Kochi in September 2022.