Did terror suspect ‘journalist’ Siddique Kappan plan to cross into Syria via Georgia and join the terror outfit ISIS? The Islamic State (ISIS) is a militant Islamist group that follows the Salafi jihadist branch of Sunni Islam. The global terrorist group was rooted in Syria and had global operations, including Bharat.
The latest revelations came after an Ernakulam NIA court recently convicted Mohammad Polakanni in the Kanakamala Islamic State (IS) module case. Polakanni planned to enter Syria via the Georgia-Turkey border but failed.
NIA suspects Kappan also had a similar plan and is investigating his ISIS connections. His links with the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI) were reasonably open, and he has been in jail since September 2020. Janmabhumi released a copy of Kappan’s visa that was approved by Georgian authorities sometime in 2017.
While in Delhi, Kappan claimed to be a journalist who lived in poverty. Yet, an online magazine’s deprived and impoverished reporter visited Georgia and South Africa between January and May 2017. The real purpose of Kappan’s visits is yet to be revealed. During this period, the terror suspect allegedly arranged a Georgia visa.
NIA officers received evidence of Popular Front of India (PFI) links with ISIS from the arrested PFI national leaders. Senior PFI leaders in Kerala acted as ISIS recruitment agents. PFI also organized special classes to teach ISIS radicalization orientation among the youth.
Earlier this week, an NIA court in Ernakulam convicted Polakanni in the Kanakamala IS recruitment case. The terrorist was sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of three lakhs rupees. On 1 October 2016, the NIA registered a case against nine accused.
Polakanni was sentenced to 38 years of imprisonment under different sections. Since the sentence runs concurrently, the convict must serve only seven years of rigorous imprisonment. Polakanni, a native of Kozhikode, is the ninth accused in that case.
Inspired by the Islamic State, Polakanni and several others became members of a group that planned to carry out violence in various places in Bharat. They formed a terrorist module called ‘Ansar-ul Khilafah-KL’ and propagated the jihadi activities of the Islamic State in South Bharat. Ansarul Khilafah-KL concentrated its terrorist activities in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
The accused conspired near Kankamala in the Kannur district. They planned targeted assassinations of prominent judges, police officers, and politicians in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. These terrorists also located soft targets such as foreigners – especially Jews – and places of tourist interest.
Several Islamist fundamentalists came together to plan these attacks. NIA investigations revealed that Polakanni was inspired by ISIS and joined the terrorist organization while living in Saudi Arabia. The terrorist was involved in an active conspiracy using social media to carry out terror attacks in South Bharat.
The Kanakamala conspiracy happened in 2016. NIA busted the group from Kanakamala, Kannur district when the members held a meeting to discuss carrying out terror attacks. The agency arrested six from there.
Polakanni wanted to join ISIS and traveled to Georgia from Saudi Arabia in early 2018. He planned to move to Turkey and then cross the border into Syria. He was detained by Georgian authorities and deported to Bharat. The terrorist was arrested at the Delhi airport on 18 September 2020. The trial of the nine accused in the case was completed in November 2019, and the punishment was awarded.
In April 2022, the NIA court in Kochi sentenced Siddiqul Aslam to three years of imprisonment in the same case. The native of Vembayam in Thiruvananthapuram was arrested at the Delhi airport after being deported from Saudi Arabia with the help of Interpol.
In 2019, prime accused Mansidh Muhammad was sentenced to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment. Other accused, Salih Muhammad (ten years), NK Safwan (eight years), Rashid (seven years), and both Ramshad and Moinuddin Parakadavathu (three years), were also punished.
