The National Investigation Agency registered a case on Sunday after a woman from Kerala alleged that her husband tried to sell her to Islamic State terrorists as a sex slave after converting her to Islam.
The central government made the submission in an affidavit filed before the Kerala High Court on Monday. It said given the seriousness of the alleged offence, the government suo motu entrusted the investigation into the case with the NIA.
The 25-year-old woman, hailing from Pathanamthitta district of Kerala and settled in Gujarat, had earlier approached the High Court seeking an NIA probe against her husband Mohammad Riyaz, who allegedly tried to take her to Syria from Saudi Arabia. Police have already arrested two people who are suspected to have facilitated their marriage.
The woman claimed that she had met Riyaz, from Thalassery in Kannur district of Kerala, while studying in Bengaluru in 2014 and alleged that her marriage was registered using forged documents. She also said she was blackmailed by him later.
The case, which was being probed by the police, will now be handled by the NIA. The agency has filed FIR against nine people under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. The accused have been charged under various IPC sections for offences including rape, forgery and forced religious conversion.
The development assumes significance as it comes in the backdrop of sensational Hadiya case which is being heard by the Supreme Court.
The apex court had made it clear that the NIA cannot probe the marital status of Hadiya, alleged to be a victim of 'love jihad', saying it was concerned about the choice of an adult to marry someone.
The Kerala police had handed over to NIA a list of 89 suspected 'love jihad' cases, where the victims alleged that they were forced to convert to Islam.
