Islamic State’s Tamil Nadu ‘chief’ disappears from police radar

Police sources told DT Next that the three were found travelling on a silver colour vehicle, and added that another person from Parangipettai in Cuddalore is suspected to be with them.

On Tuesday, the city police announced reward for any information leading to their arrest. Those who have any information can contact 044-23452377, 9840302266 or 9498100079, said a notice issued by the police.

Among the three whom the police are hunting for is C Khaja Moideen alias Abdullah Muthaleef (49) of Cuddalore, who is believed to be head of IS in Tamil Nadu. A Mohammed Shameem alias Abdul Shameem (26) and N Syed Ali Nawaz (27) of Kanyakumari are the other two. All three were arrested for the murder of Hindu Munnani leader KP Suresh Kumar in Ambattur in June 2014.

Moideen was arrested in July 2014. A month later, a joint operation by Tamil Nadu and Karnataka police led to the capture of Shameem and Nawaz.

After the National Investigation Agency (NIA) came into the picture due to his suspected links to IS and arrested Moideen in October 2017, multiple sources in central agencies,including NIA, said he was the Emir or commander of IS’s Tamil Nadu unit. He was entrusted with the responsibility of luring and recruiting youths, and sending them to Syria to fight for the Islamic Caliphate, sources said.

From being a member of the proscribed outfit SIMI, Moideen turned into a hard core IS operative, allege central agencies, accusing him of receiving funds locally to recruit youth for IS. After his arrest, he was initially lodged in Puzhal prison but was transferred to Salem jail in 2015 after he was involved in an incident where the jail staff were attacked and one of the jailors was held hostage.

He came out on bail in January 2019 and had been attending court cases. But since November, Moideen, Shameem and Nawaz stopped attending the hearings and disappeared from police radar.

Sources said the three missing fundamentalists were last seen together travelling in a silver colour vehicle, and believe that they had disappeared together. Officials searching for them suspect that the trio might be hatching some plan.

“Hence, please alert all the check posts and look for the three. In the meanwhile, please strengthen the security of vital installations, VVIPs, leaders of religious organisations, places of worship, tourist places with huge footfall, etc.,” a recent police message sent across the State said.

There is a possibility that one Abdul Samad of Parangipettai is also accompanying the missing fundamentalists, sources added.