Bengaluru, Dec 27 : The NIA Special Court, Bengaluru, on Wednesday convicted and sentenced to 7 years imprisonment two highly radicalised members of Al-Qaeda in Indian Sub-Continent (AQIS).
The duo, Akthar Hussain Laskar @ Md Hussain of Assam and Abdul Aleem Mondal @ Md Juba of West Bengal, have also been fined Rs 41,000 and Rs 51,000, respectively by the NIA court.
NIA had registered a case on 30 August 2022 under sections 153A, 153B, 120B, 121, 121A, 114 & 511 of IPC and sections 10, 13, 15, 16, 18 & 20 of UA (P) Act, 1967.
The conviction of the two AQIS members marks a major success in NIA’s sustained efforts to identify the banned outfit’s ‘Handlers’ and prosecute them.
As per NIA investigations, the two convicts had been radicalised and recruited by foreign-based online handlers of AQIS and were actively engaged in furthering the activities of the AQIS. Post-recruitment by AQIS, the accused had joined various Telegram Groups.
NIA investigations have further revealed that the accused had conspired to undertake Hijra to the Khorasan Province of Afghanistan, where they also intended to undergo training.
Further, the two men had planned to carry out Jihad against members of a particular community in India after undertaking training in Khorasan, as part of the AQIS conspiracy to promote its anti-India agenda through acts of terror and violence.
They were also in the process of radicalising and recruiting other youth into the AQIS, besides motivating them to commit Hijra to Khorasan of Afghanistan.
