Kerala scribe Rejaz Sydeek has links with Hizbul Mujahideen, JKLF: Police

 

 

The City Police have alleged that Rejaz M Sheeba Sydeek was in contact with members of banned terrorist organisations Hizbul Mujahideen and the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF). Sydeek, who was arrested in Nagpur on May 8, is currently under investigation for allegedly “waging war against the Government” and has been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). While forensic examination of the material seized from his Ernakulam residence in Kerala on May 11 is still underway, the police claim that the initial recovery from his phone and devices had already provided evidence of his links with banned outfits. According to submissions made by the Maharashtra Police to the special NIA court, the data recovered from Sydeek’s mobile phone includes conversations with persons suspected to be affiliated to Hizbul Mujahideen and JKLF. Several documents found on his phone also reflect ideological alignment with separatist causes.

 

These include titles such as Azadi Kashmir ka Naara, Inside Occupied Kashmir Today, Resisting Occupation in Kashmir, and Revolutionary Resurgence by Hizbul Mujahideen, along with a JKLF publication titled The Best and Easiest Solution to the Kashmir Issue. Investigators also cited suspicious activity on messaging apps such as Signal and Telegram, where Sydeek was active in encrypted chat groups like ‘End of the War on People’ and ‘armybergo’, and engaged in conversations flagged as potentially seditious. A top rank official stated that Sydeek had saved contacts of suspected CPI (Maoist) members, including one Comrade Valika, and was allegedly seeking financial support for Maoist activities. He was also reportedly part of a Signal group managed by Murali Kannampilly, a known figure linked with CPI (Maoist) and is believed to have played a role in the group’s core network. Moreover, the police are examining his travel history, particularly a visit to Pune in April 2023, during which Sydeek is suspected to have met with two members of the banned Kabir Kala Manch - Prashant Kamble alias Laptop and Santosh Shelar alias Painter - prior to their arrests.

 

The police is also trying to find the reasons for Sydeek’s presence in Nagpur. He reportedly told investigators that he had travelled there to meet a woman he had connected with on Instagram. While the two visited a rifle shop where he was photographed holding firearms, security agencies are treating this account with caution due to the presence of sensitive military and security installations in the city. The possibility that his visit had a different motive is still under scrutiny.

 

Seven phones seized from Kerala home From his residence in Ernakulam, police recovered seven mobile phones, four pen drives, two books, a memory card, a hard drive, an adapter, and a Jio SIM card. The police claim that the digital devices contained not only banned literature but also secret documents associated with extremist ideology and anti-national propaganda. Although investigators are yet to find evidence of financial transactions, a senior Government official emphasised that the ideological and operational evidence was significant enough to warrant UAPA charges.

 

The Maharashtra ATS has now formally taken over the investigation from the Nagpur Police, and the court has extended Sydeek’s police custody by three days to allow further inquiry. Officials from both State and Central intelligence agencies, including the Kerala ATS, are now jointly examining the broader implications of Sydeek’s alleged connections with banned outfits. Sydeek stayed in hotel with girl Sydeek told investigators that he had travelled to Nagpur to meet a girl he had connected with on Instagram roughly a month prior. The girl is pursuing law degree from a reputed college and her parents are staying at Pune. The two spent time together at a hotel for three days. The duo reportedly visited a local rifle shop, where the woman photographed Sydeek holding an air rifle and a pistol. These images helped the police to track his location in Nagpur city.