Message from ISIS land? Missing Keralite tells family a baby girl is born

Kasaragod: The mystery behind the missing Keralites reared its head again with a fresh message from one of them reaching his home in Kasaragod after a lull.

A message from Dr Ijaz of Thrikaripur, Kasaragod, conveyed to his family in Kerala that he has been blessed with a daughter. The message was sent through Telegram, a messaging app, to the brother of Ijaz's wife Rifaila. The message was sent from the account of another missing youth Abdul Rashid.

The message has been handed over to the crime branch, which is investigating the case. It has been two months since 17 youths were reported missing from the district. The missing persons are suspected to have joined the terror outfit Islamic State. They had sent messages to their relatives earlier too.

Meanwhile, Iran and Afghanistan, where the missing youths are suspected have fled to, maintained that there has been no trace of the missing Keralites in those countries.

Earlier reports had said that the missing Keralites might have reached Iran via Afghanistan. The state and the Center had sought details of their journey from the two countries on the basis of the said reports.

As many as 21 youths went missing from Kasaragod and Palakkad districts and later some of them informed their relatives that they had reached their destinations.