Indian woman en route to Kabul to allegedly join Isis produced in court

Yasmeen Muhammed, the mother of a five-year-old, was produced in a court in Kasaragod, in the southern state of Kerala in India, on Monday (1 August), after she was detained at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi by immigration officials on 31 July.

Muhammed, who belongs to the eastern Indian state of Bihar, was on her way to Kabul to allegedly join the Islamic State (Isis) and "lead a true Islamic life" along with her son.

According to reports, the 28-year-old woman has also some links with the 21 youths from Kerala who had gone missing since July allegedly to join Isis. She has been charged under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and remanded in judicial custody.

Reports say Muhammed is a divorcee and is linked to Kasaragod's Abdul Rashid — the key figure behind the missing of youths from the state. According to an Indian Express report, Rashid, who is allegedly Muhammed's ex-husband, used to send messages from Afghanistan to her. "Security agencies tracked this communication. Rashid invited her to join him to lead a true Islamic life. She had planned to reach Kabul as instructed by him. She was to leave the country along with the Kerala youths, but could not do so due to some delay in getting her documents cleared," sources said.

The report added that she had worked at the two campuses of Peace International School in Kerala from 2013 to 2014. Interestingly, the two campuses, one in Kottakkal and the other one in Kollam, are under the radar of intelligence agencies because of their suspected links with the missing youths.

She was held during security check by immigration officials after she "started screaming at officials for harassing her. She was handed over to Delhi Police's special cell and later taken into custody by a team from Kerala Police, which had issued a Look-out Circular (LOC) for her," sources revealed to the Indian Express.