NIA court sentences three Al-Qaeda-linked men in 2021 terror case

Lucknow's NIA special court has sentenced three Al-Qaeda-linked men—Museeruddin, Minhaj Ahmad, and Tawheed Ahmad Shah—to rigorous imprisonment up to life. They were convicted in a 2021 radicalisation and recruitment conspiracy case.

The Lucknow special court (SPL) of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has sentenced three more accused in a 2021 Al-Qaeda linked radicalisation and recruitment case. The three men have been identified as Museeruddin alias Raju and Minhaj Ahmad alias Minhaj of Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), and Tawheed Ahmad Shah alias Sobu Shah, hailing from the district Budgam of J&K. All three have been convicted and sentenced under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Explosive Substances Act, and Arms Act.

Details of the Verdict

The special court on Monday pronounced varying jail terms, ranging from 5 years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) to life imprisonment, against these accused. All the sentences will run concurrently. The men have also been fined a sum of up to Rs. 20,000. Three other accused, namely Shakeel, Mohd. Mustaqeem and Mohammad Moid (all residents of Lucknow), were convicted earlier in this case (RC-02/2021/NIA/LKW) after they had pleaded guilty under the Arms Act. NIA had filed charges against all six convicted accused in the case through two chargesheets in 2022.

Case Origin and Investigation

The case was originally registered by the Uttar Pradesh police following the arrest of Mushirudeen and Minhaj, both members of the banned Al-Qaeda terrorist organisation, by the U.P ATS in July 2021. The duo was found to be involved in radicalisation and recruitment of vulnerable youth for raising Ansaar Gajwatul Hind (AGH) as a module of AQIS (Al-Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent) in Lucknow. The conspiracy was aimed at carrying out terrorist acts in various cities of U.P, including the capital, ahead of the Independence Day celebrations in 2021.

NIA, after taking over the case, found that Minhaj was radicalised by Tawheed and another accused, Adil Nabi Teli @ Musa. Together, these three men had conspired to recruit members for the banned AGH to commit terrorist acts.

Investigations by the anti-terror agency further revealed that Museeruddin was also roped into the conspiracy by Minhaj, and had even taken 'Baiyat' (oath of allegiance) at the latter's behest. Subsequently, Museeruddin and Minhaj had procured arms, ammunition and explosive materials with the help of Shakeel, Mustaqeem and Moid as part of the terror conspiracy intended to wage war against the Government of India.

During the course of the investigation, Musa was found to be a declared terrorist affiliated with TRF, an extended outfit of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror organisation. Investigations revealed that Musa had received funds from Minhaj through Tawheed. Musa was killed in an encounter with security forces in March 2022, and the NIA had filed an abated chargesheet against him in August 2022. (ANI)

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