It was in 2016 that Bindhu, mother of Nimisha, now settled in Manacadu, here, approached Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for help to locate her daughter gone missing.
Later, she came to know that Nimisha had married her friend Eeza, a Christian who had converted to Islam. Also, she had left for Afghanistan. The last contact between the mother and daughter was in November 2018, when Bindhu spoke to Nimisha and husband.
While Bindhu couldn't be reached, Manacadu Suresh, a senior Congress leader who had taken Bindhu to Vijayan and other political leaders, told that she had called her two days back.
"Bindhu was crying and said she had got information, pictures of Nimisha, her baby girl and Eeza through some Australian media. All I could do was to comfort her with the news that they had surrendered and hence could return. We must wait for them," said Suresh.
The Kerala government had contacted various central agencies, like IB, NIA and RAW, in 2016 to know the veracity of reports about 19 missing Keralites joining the IS, as claimed by their relatives.
These 19 Keralites included 10 men, six women and three children. They hailed from Kasargode and Palakkad districts and included Christ and Hindu converts.
In n the past two years, according to relatives, a few of those who had joined IS were reportedly killed.
The news of surrender has re-kindled the hopes of the missing Keralites' families to see them again.
( With inputs from IANS )