Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai
Mumbai, Nov 8: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has secured the conviction of Adnanali Sarkar, one of the accused in the Maharashtra ISIS Terror Module case. A special court in Mumbai sentenced him to a maximum of six years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a total fine of Rs 65,000.
According to an NIA press release, the Special Court (NIA), Mumbai, convicted Sarkar (A-5) on Saturday under Sections 13, 18, 20, 38 and 39 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Sections 201 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code.
The NIA registered the case suo motu on June 28, 2023, following information received from the Ministry of Home Affairs about an alleged conspiracy by ISIS members to threaten India's unity, integrity, security and sovereignty.
The investigation exposed a larger conspiracy involving international links and foreign-based ISIS handlers. The accused were allegedly involved in spreading ISIS extremist ideology, recruiting members, raising funds for terrorist activities and circulating propaganda magazines, including 'Voice of Hind' and 'Voice of Khurasan'.
Six accused were chargesheeted in the case. They were identified as Tabish Nasser Siddiqui, Zulfikar Ali Barodawala alias Lalabhai, Sharjeel Shaikh, Aakif Ateeque Nachan, Zubair Noor Mohammad Shaikh alias Abu Nusaiba and Adnanali Sarkar.
The Special Court had framed charges against all six accused in accordance with the provisions mentioned in the chargesheet. All six are in judicial custody. The trial against the remaining five accused will continue, the NIA said.
In a separate operation linked to a fake Indian currency notes (FICN) recovery case, the NIA conducted searches at eight locations across Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal on Wednesday.
The case relates to the seizure of counterfeit currency with a face value of Rs 2,48,500 within the jurisdiction of Madanpur Police Station in Bihar's Aurangabad district.
During the searches, the agency seized digital devices, incriminating documents and Bangladeshi currency, among other items.
Following the recovery, a case was registered at Madanpur Police Station on August 15 against four accused identified as Surendra Kumar, Vijay Yadav, Ranjan and Pradeep Saw. The NIA re-registered the case on October 18 and took over the investigation following an order from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
"The investigation conducted so far has revealed that the accused persons in the case were involved in smuggling of FICN," the NIA said.