Kochi: Mariam, one of the 16 persons who have gone missing from Kerala in a case with suspected Islamic State links, was converted to Islam by her classmate who later married her, according to her mother.
Mariam, who was known as Merin before embracing Islam, hails from a Christian family in Kochi. She is missing along with her husband Yahiya, brother-in-law Eeza and his wife Fathima.
Mariam's mother Mini told Manorama News that they found some changes in her daughter after she went to work in Mumbai after finishing her studies from a college in Kochi.
"She was influenced by Yahiya, who was her classmate in Plus Two. Though she tried to resist first, she later followed his words and embraced his religion. They got married later," Mini said.
Mini said the couple had gone to Sri Lanka earlier. "When she told me that they were going to Sri Lanka for some prayers, I had warned her against going for these trips,” said Mini, who 'feared it to be an ISIS trap'.
Mini said they heard that her daughter and her husband had returned from Sri Lanka but there was no news of them for three weeks.