The special NIA court in its verdict in the first case registered in Kerala related to the Islamic State pronounced Yasmin Mohammed Zahid of Bihar guilty and sentenced her to seven years in prison.
Yasmin is accused of recruiting 15 people from Kasargod district in Kerala and helping them migrate to Afghanistan to join the terror outfit. The Kerala Police had initially registered missing persons cases in this regard, and the National Investigation Agency later joined the investigation after the involvement of IS was suspected.
Yasmin had attempted to join the IS with her son and was about to leave for Kabul when she was arrested by the Kerala Police at the Delhi International Airport on July 30, 2016.
The NIA had filed the chargesheet against Yasmin, the only one to be arrested in the case, and her husband Abdul Rasheed, who is believed to be in Afghanistan currently. The agency had also stepped up its hunt for the remaining accused in the case with the help of Interpol.
The court cross-examined 52 prosecution and three defence witnesses and examined digital and other material evidence.
Some of the accused are reported to have been killed while fighting for the IS against security forces in Afghanistan.
The NIA is currently investigating six cases of a similar nature. The suspects in most of these cases have direct links with Kerala.
With inputs from Onmanorama