NIA court sentences 4 ISIS operatives in 'Voice of Hind' terror conspiracy case
A special NIA court in New Delhi has sentenced four operatives of the proscribed Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) to up to six years in prison in the ‘Voice of Hind’ terror conspiracy case.
Umar Nisar alias Qasim Khurasani, Rameez Ahmad Lone and Tanveer Ahmad Bhat were each sentenced to six years of rigorous imprisonment, while Afshan Parvaiz Jarabi was sentenced to five years. The court also imposed fines of Rs 36,000, Rs 31,000, Rs 23,000 and Rs 9,000, respectively. All four sentences will run concurrently.
The NIA Special Exclusive Court-01 at the Rouse Avenue District Courts Complex had convicted the four accused on September 17. They were found guilty of criminal conspiracy and offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Indian Penal Code.
According to the National Investigation Agency, the case relates to an ISIS conspiracy to radicalise and recruit the youth in India and encourage them to wage violent jihad against the Indian State.
The investigation found that ISIS operatives in conflict zones, along with its cadres in India, created a network using pseudonymous online identities to disseminate the group's propaganda.‘VOICE OF HIND’ USED TO SPREAD ISIS PROPAGANDA
The NIA said the network was involved in creating, editing, publishing and distributing the India-centric ISIS propaganda magazine ‘Sawt-al-Hind’, also known as ‘The Voice of Hind’, through online platforms.
The network also sought to motivate and facilitate Indians to undertake ‘hijrat’, or migration, to ISIS-controlled conflict theatres in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and other areas, the agency said.
During the investigation, the NIA seized digital and other material, including PDFs of ‘Voice of Hind’, posters of slain terrorists, radicalising literature, links to ISIS propaganda, chats and audio recordings related to weapon procurement, and ISIS banners and flags.ROLE OF 4 CONVICTS
The court found Umar Nisar involved in disseminating and propagating ISIS material through ‘Voice of Hind’, Telegram and other online channels for radicalising and recruiting youth.
Rameez Ahmad Lone and Tanveer Ahmad Bhat were found involved in propagating ISIS ideology and radicalising and recruiting youth to join the organisation.
Afshan Parvaiz Jarabi was found involved in publishing and disseminating articles for ‘Voice of Hind’ through Telegram channels, as well as propagating ISIS ideology and inviting youth to join ISIS.TRIAL AGAINST OTHER ACCUSED CONTINUES
The NIA filed a chargesheet and four supplementary chargesheets against eight accused in the case. The agency said its investigation established the involvement of the accused in the ISIS ‘Voice of Hind’ module and their role in furthering the objectives of the proscribed organisation through online activities. The trial against the remaining accused is continuing.- Ends
Kamaljit Sandhu is an award winning journalist working as Deputy Editor in India Today. She has nearly two decades of experience as a full time TV journalist. She covers "conflict" regions, Internal security matters, MEA and Parliament. Her work has often led to crisscrossing the country. She has also traveled to Pakistan and Iran, in pursuit of news stories. In 2019, she received the ENBA Award for best news programming for her ground report on "surviving Bastar" which was based on the government's policy on inducting tribals in Crpf in chattisgarh to counter naxals.
Personal interests: Kamaljit likes travelling, interior decoration and playing scrabble, Has varied interests in sporting activities like swimming, badminton and Yoga.
