Two persons were on Sunday booked under UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) based on a complaint filed by brother of one of the missing women, suspected to have joined the Islamic State.
Merrin’s (Mirriam) brother Ebin Joseph, who hails from Ernakulam filed a complaint against Merrin’s husband Bestin (Eshia) and a Mumbai-based preacher RS Qureshi of Islamic Research Foundation.
The Times of India reports that in his complaint, Ebin pointed out that Eshia from Palakkad took him to Mumbai in 2014 to meet Qureshi, who then tried to convince him to convert to Islam and subsequently join IS. Eshia had converted to Islam over a year ago.
He also claimed in the complaint filed with Palarivattom police, that Eshia had trapped his sister, got her converted to Islam and forced her to join IS.
Though there is still no official confirmation that the 21 people including Mirriam and Eshia who went missing since the past two months have indeed joined IS, their families continue to live in the fear that their suspicions would turn out to be true.
Mathrubhumi reports that this is the first instance in the state that UAPA has been invoked on a missing persons case.
Recalling the changes in Merrin’s behaviour, her mother Mini had told The News Minute that they also approached Ebin in an attempt to convert him to Islam. “I lost my daughter…Ebin was aware of the trauma we were going through at the time and took the bold decision to stay with us,” Mini recalled.