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MUMBAI: The brother of BTech graduate from Kerala Abdul Rashid (33), who is alleged to have fled the country with his wife and child to join ISIS and who has a case against him for radicalizing youths in Kerala, deposed as a witness in the special NIA court on Tuesday. The brother told the court that Abdul had messaged him in 2016 and said that he has migrated with his family and will never return.

Arshi Qureshi, a manager with Zakir Naik 's Islamic Research Foundation, is also on trial in the case. In 2017, the NIA had submitted a chargesheet against Qureshi and Abdul.

The witness told the court that after returning from Dubai, Abdul got a job and in 2011, married a Christian woman who later converted to Islam. He said the couple began to work at Peace International School in Kerala. The witness further submitted that while Abdul's wife quit after she became pregnant, his brother continued working in the HR department and used to visit all Peace International Schools.

He recalled that during this time, Abdul befriended Bestin Francis. The NIA had claimed that Bestin, a Christian who converted to Islam and took the name Yahiya, had also fled to ISIS territory. The witness said thereafter the family noticed that Abdul started performing religious activities. He said that one day, Abdul left with his wife to study Arabic in Sri Lanka. During Ramzan in 2016, after spending three months in Sri Lanka, the couple returned home, the witness said, adding that Abdul and his wife then left for Mumbai to complete some formalities relating to the latter's conversion. The witness said since then he did not contact the family and no one knew of his whereabouts.

The brother said in 2016, he received a WhatsApp message from Abdul asking him to download a messaging app, Telegram. He said after he downloaded the app, Abdul sent him a message informing him that he had migrated and would not return home. He said the family then lodged an FIR at the local police station and his statement was recorded.

