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NIA charge-sheets 17 ISIS operatives in Delhi-Padgha terror module case

The NIA in March had booked three people and filed a supplementary charge sheet before the Special Court at Delhi’s Patiala House against 17 others.

Statesman News Service | New Delhi | June 3, 2024 6:55 pm

NIA charge-sheets 17 ISIS operatives in Delhi-Padgha terror module case

Photo: IANS

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has charge-sheeted 17 people over their alleged role in the recruitment and radicalization of youth and fabrication of improvised explosive devices in the Delhi-Padgha ISIS terror module case, officials said on Monday.

With this, the total number of accused charge-sheeted in the case has gone up to 20.

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The NIA in March had booked three people and filed a supplementary charge sheet before the Special Court at Delhi’s Patiala House against 17 others.

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According to the anti-terror agency, out of these, 15 are from Maharashtra and the other two belong to Uttarakhand and Haryana.

The accused, charge-sheeted under various sections of the IPC, UA(P) Act, Arms Act and Explosive Substances Act, were found to have been engaged in a huge Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) conspiracy, involving recruitment, training and propagation of its ideology among gullible youth, along with fabrication of explosives and IEDs and also in fund-raising for the banned outfit.

The case in the matter was registered by the NIA in November 2023, and the agency’s probe had subsequently led to the seizure of several incriminating documents and data relating to making explosives and fabrication of IEDs along with propaganda magazines.

In another crucial finding, the NIA also unearthed that the accused had been sharing digital files related to IED fabrication with their contacts, and actively
raising funds to carry forward their terror plans as part of ISIS agenda, aimed at spreading violence in the country in a bid to destroy its secular ethos and democratic systems.

According to the NIA, the accused persons had taken a pledge of allegiance from an arrested accused Saquib Nachan, a habitual offender in many previous terror cases.

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The Kerala High Court, on Thursday, granted bail to M K Nasar, one of the individuals convicted by the special NIA court last year in the case of chopping the hands of Professor T J Joseph in 2010. A division bench comprising Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan and Justice P V Balakrishnan suspended Nasar’s sentence and granted conditional bail to him after considering his appeal against the NIA court’s conviction in the case Considering the prolonged detention and citing the potential for trial delays, the court suspended Nasar’s sentence and granted conditional bail, taking into account that some co-accused with similar allegations had already been released after serving shorter terms. The court noted that he had already spent nine years in jail and that delays in resolving appeals could justify suspending a convict’s prison term. It also observed that other accused in the case had received lesser sentences and had already been released after serving their terms. “The applicant has been undergoing incarceration, at the pre-conviction and post-conviction phases, for over 9 years. Furthermore, the fact that the accused facing the same allegations were earlier imposed a lesser term of imprisonment and have been released after having undergone the sentence is a factor that cannot be ignored. Additionally, the appeals filed by the NIA against the findings of the learned Sessions Judge are being considered in separate appeals, which have not yet been taken up. “There is also the likelihood of delay, as the prime accused has surrendered, and the learned Sessions Judge may have to take up the trial and dispose of it in accordance with the law and some of the original records may be required for that purpose. In view of these facts and circumstances, we are of the considered opinion that the sentence imposed on the applicant can be suspended pending the consideration of the appeal.” The court said The court, however, imposed strict conditions for Nasar’s bail. He is not supposed to provide a bond of Rs 1 lakh with two sureties, refrain from leaving the country without the court’s permission, avoid interfering with the trial or witnesses, and not commit similar offences while on bail The gruesome incident dates back to July 4, 2010, when Joseph, a professor at Newman College, Thodupuzha, was returning from Sunday mass with his family, members of the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI) attacked him, allegedly in retaliation for a question paper he set, which contained a passage that they claimed insulted Prophet Mohammed was derogatory. His right hand was chopped off in this attack. Nasar was accused of playing a critical role in the attack. Investigations revealed his involvement in recruiting gang members, assigning specific tasks, collecting funds, procuring communication devices, and maintaining communication links with key conspirators.

The Kerala High Court, on Thursday, granted bail to M K Nasar, one of the individuals convicted by the special NIA court last year in the case of chopping the hands of Professor T J Joseph in 2010.