Terror module: Two men were sentenced to five years of imprisonment by a special NIA court in Delhi for promoting activities of proscribed ISIS, also known as Islamic State, in India.
The two persons were identified as Abdullah Basith and Abdul Qadir who were arrested on August 12, 2018, for their affiliation with the ISIS and for attempting to propagate their anti-India agenda through the ISIS Abu Dhabi module.
According to a spokesperson of the federal agency, the NIA Special Court, Delhi sentenced both of them under various sections of Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and Explosive Substances Act.
The duo have been jailed for five years, the official said.
“The NIA had launched its investigations in the case registered on January 28, 2016, on orders from the Union Home Ministry after details of the serious conspiracy came to light during investigations in another case,” the spokesperson said.
The official said that the NIA had then cracked a criminal conspiracy that was hatched by three Indian nationals who were members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The individuals were identified as Sheikh Azhar Al Islam Sattar Sheikh, Mohammed Farhan Mohammed Rafiq Shaikh, and Adnan Hussain.
"Along with other unknown associates, these three had conspired to identify, motivate, radicalise, recruit and train gullible Indian Muslim youth, both within and outside the country, to initiate them into the planning and execution of terrorist attacks," the spokesperson said.
The NIA had filed a chargesheet against the trio on July 25, 2016.
“In 2017, all three had pleaded guilty before the NIA Special Court, which then sentenced them to seven years of imprisonment of life,” the official said.
The federal agency said further investigations into these men's antecedents showed that one Abdullah Basith, an active member of ISIS, was also part of the ISIS Abu Dhabi module.
"He was found engaged in actively propagating the organisation’s ideology in furtherance of the larger criminal conspiracy."
Basith had indulged in the radicalisation of vulnerable youth to join the ISIS and also collected funds from accused Adnan Hussain and other aides.
"He had even facilitated the visa and passport of radicalised youth with the help of the funds collected. He had also been involved in arranging and managing meetings with his associates to strengthen and expand the ISIS footprint in India," the spokesperson said.
“Qadir, the other accused, had come in contact with Basith after watching a television interview in May 2017,” the official added.
He also then became a part of the conspiracy and joined hands in promoting the ISIS ideology.
"He openly professed to be a supporter and member of the Islamic State and had attended various meetings of ISIS organised by Basith," the spokesperson said.
The official said supplementary a charge sheet was filed against the two accused on February 7, 2019.
(With PTI inputs)
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