'My son was swayed by promises of jannat'

Ashfaq Abdul Majid, the 25-year-old who fled the country with his wife and daughter on June 2 and joined the ISIS, was allegedly brainwashed by promises of jannat made by IRF employee Arshid Qureshi.

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The lodge run by ISIS recruiter Ashfaq's father, Abdul Majid Abdul Kader, in Mumbai Central

An FIR was registered at the Nagpada police station against Qureshi and three others on August 6 based on a complaint from Ashfaq's father, Abdul Majid Abdul Kader. The case has been handed over to the Mumbai crime branch.

Kader, who runs Plaza Guest House in Mumbai Central, told mid-day that Qureshi radicalised his son. "He told my son that he would go to heaven if he chose Allah's way, and left his parents and family."

He said Ashfaq, a commerce graduate, used to help him run his business, but spent most of his time with the rest of the family in their hometown, Kasargod, in Kerala. There, he allegedly met Abdul Rashid Abdulla, a teacher at a school run by the IRF, who hailed from the same village.

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Abdulla, an electronic engineer, had recently quit his job in Debai, returned to India and began teaching the Quran at Peace International School for a salary of Rs 20,000.

Ashfaq, along with other youth, allegedly attended Abdulla's classes by night. Kader, however, suspected that the night classes were a front for radicalising teachings. "It was Abdulla who introduced my son to Qureshi, who brainwashed him."

Said was going to Lanka
Kader said he began noticing changes in Ashfaq's behaviour two years ago. "We hail from the Sunni sect, but he was tilting towards Salafism. He started growing a beard, going to the mosque to offer namaaz five times a day and started harbouring extreme views. His behaviour and activities were against Sunni practices, and later, he started going to different (Ahle Hadis) mosques to offer namaaz."

Ashfaq, the eldest son in the family, allegedly told his family that he, his wife, Samshiya and their 18-month-old daughter were headed for Sri Lanka and would return by Eid. "He had visited Sri Lanka in the past. So, we did not make much of the visit. But when he did not return by Eid, we approached a missing persons complaint with the police," said Kader.

Ashfaq's younger brother is a collegian, while his younger sister is married and lives in Dubai.

Kader said he had gone an on umrah (pilgrimage) when Ashfaq claimed to have left for Sri Lanka. "When I returned over a month later, my family said they had gone to Sri Lanka for a ritual that involved reading the Quran at a pilgrimage site."

Message on Eid
It was on Eid that the family found out Ashfaq's true intentions. His younger brother received a voice message from him on Telegram app, saying he had joined the ISIS and wouldn't return home, said a senior police officer. He ended the message by asking his brother to take care of their mother.

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IRF man helped with tickets
According to the police, Ashfaq made a four-day pit stop at Mumbai before feeling the country. He also allegedly visited Navi Mumbai, from where the police later picked up an IRF employee and alleged ISIS sympathiser.

Kader has been told by the police that Qureshi helped arrange Ashfaq's flight tickets. This was arranged on the pretext of sending a team for conversions.