A journalist working with a Malayalam newspaper in Kerala has reportedly joined the Islamic State, also known as Isis.
The central intelligence department had informed Kerala's home ministry several months ago about the Keralite Isis recruit, but the news was only confirmed at a meeting of top police brass with the Home Ministry in Delhi recently, according to Manorama Online.
The journalist is said to have been working with a regional newspaper in Kerala's Palakkad, and had grown attracted to Isis last year after the terror group formed a 'caliphate' in parts of Iraq and Syria.
The journalist even shared his plans of joining Isis with his family, who dissuaded him.
However, the journalist, whose name is not known, left for the Gulf to work for the same paper as an international reporter, but soon fled to Syria and joined the Isis, as per reports.
A total of 13 Indians are said to have travelled to Iraq and Syria over the last year, of which six have died, and 7 are still fighting with the group.
It is not clear if the Kerala journalist is alive or has been killed, as officials have reportedly said that the seven Indians currently with Isis are from Kalyan, Telangana, Bengaluru, while other Indian nationals are from Oman, Singapore and Australia, according to The Times of India.
The Home Ministry had called a high-level meeting on Saturday to discuss the issue of Isis influence in the country.
