Shafin Jahan, ‘husband’ of Akhila Asokan alias Hadiya , was allegedly in touch with two key chargesheeted accused in ISIS (Islamic State) Omar-al-Hindi case, Manseed and P Safvan, via a closed Facebook group comprising activists of Popular Front of India (PFI)’s political arm SDPI as well as a popular messaging application, during the months preceding his marriage to Hadiya, an NIA probe has found.
Both Manseed and Safvan, arrested in October last year, have been chargesheeted by NIA in the Omar-al-Hindi case.
The case relates to criminal conspiracy by members of an Islamic State-inspired group to target high court judges, senior police officers and political leaders as well as places of public importance in south India.
The NIA believes it was Manseed and his SDPI associates including Muneer, a friend of Shafin Jahan, and not the matrimonial website ‘waytonikah.com’, that brought Hadiya and Shafin together so as to ‘arrange’ their alliance. The two got married in December 2016.
The Kerala High Court had in May this year annulled Shafin and Hadiya’s marriage. The Supreme Court is currently hearing+ Shafin Jahan’s appeal against the annulment.
Muneer, according to NIA sources, was known to Sainaba, Hadiya’s court-appointed guardian at the time of her marriage, through the PFI/SDPI network.
NIA probe has reportedly found that both Manseed and Safvan were in contact with Shafin, “an active worker of SDPI and a district committee member of SDPI’s student wing Campus Front during his college days” on a messaging/social media app as well as closed Facebook group of SDPI activists called ‘Thanal’. Both Manseed and Shafin were not only members of Facebook group ‘SDPI Keralam’ but also part of its administrative panel.