Delhi court sentences ISIS operative to 10 years imprisonment for recruiting youths, planning terror attacks

A Delhi court has sentenced ISIS operative Nafees Khan to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment in connection with a case related to recruiting youths for the banned outfit and allegedly planning terror attack in the country.

Special Judge Parveen Singh had on Friday also slapped a fine of Rs one lakh three thousand on Nafees Khan and sentenced 14 other accused persons to jail for varying terms.

The Patiala House court sentenced accused persons Mudabbir Mushtaq Sheikh, Abu Anas, and Mufti Abdus Sami to seven years in prison and asked the three to pay fines of Rs 65 thousand, Rs 48,000, and Rs 50,000 respectively.

Other accused identified as Azhar Khan and Amzad Khan were also jailed for six years and fined Rs 58,000 and Rs 78,000 respectively. Accused Mohd Shariff Moinudeen, Asif Ali, Mohd Hussain, Syed Mujahid, Najmul Huda, Mohd Obedullah, Md Aleem, Md Afzal and Sohail Ahmad were sentenced to five years jail terms with a fine of Rs 38,000 each.

According to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), this case was first of its kind in which an extensive terrorist conspiracy involving online radicalization was hatched on cyberspace in the aftermath of the declaration of Islamic Caliphate by Abu-Baqar-Al-Bagdadi in 2014, and Yusuf Al Hindi alias Shafi Armar, based in Syria had slowly radicalized a number of accused and eventually motivated them towards violent jihad as propagated by ISIS.

Earlier, a Delhi court had convicted the ISIS members, who had earlier pleaded guilty in connection with a case related to recruiting youths in the banned outfit and allegedly planning terror attack in the country.

Advocate Qausar Khan, who was appearing for 13 accused, while filing their application for pleading guilty, had urged the court to show a lenient view while sentencing the convicts.

In the plea, Advocate Qausar Khan told the court that the accused is remorseful for the acts alleged against him, and undertake not to indulge in similar acts and activities in future and even their conduct in jail is satisfactory and there is nothing adverse against him.

The accused were pleading guilty voluntarily without any pressure, threat, coercion, inducement or undue influence and they understand the consequences, Khan had submitted.

The court convicted them under criminal conspiracy and various other sections of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Explosive Substances Act.

The NIA had filed a case on December 9, 2015, under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the UAPA in connection with the matter related to the accused hatching a criminal conspiracy to establish its base in India.

( With inputs from ANI )