Kandy and his family and deported them to India. But Manaf managed to cross over (and subsequently died while fighting in Syria in November last year).

But Kandy was so motivated to join the IS that he did not give up his efforts after one failure. NIA investigation has revealed that he went to Chennai and purchased a second-hand Micromax mobile bearing mobile number 9940358628. On it he installed the Telegram app to get in touch with Shameer and Manaf in Syria. He used the services of a travel agent called Mustafa to forge himself a new identity by the name of Mohammed Ismail Mohideen. Thereafter he took a flight from Bengaluru to Bangkok, and from there he flew back to Iran. There, two other men, Abdul Khayoom andAbdul Razak, both residents of Kannur, joined him. They had taken a separate route via Calicut- Sharjah to reach Iran. As they tried crossing over to Syria, Kandy was caught again along with Razak. But Khayoom managed to cross over and is now in Syria. Kandy and Razak were deported to India in July 2016 and are now undergoing trial.

AMONG THOSE WHO left Kerala to join the IS include a 29-year-old dentist, Nimisha Sampath. In Palakkad, she fell in love with a man called Bexen Vincent. Later, both converted to Islam and are now believed to be living with their daughter in Afghanistan. They are now called Fatima Isa and Abu Isa, respectively. According to the police, Bexen’s brother Bestin, who also joined IS with his wife, has