Lucknow, Sep 15 (IANS): An NIA Special Court in Lucknow has awarded death penalty to Atif Muzaffar and Mohammed Faisal Khan, who were held guilty of murdering retired school principal Ram Babu Shukla in Kanpur, with the motive of advancing their ISIS agenda by instilling fear and terror among the people.

The court charged the two guilty under the sections of IPC 302 (murder), 120 B (criminal conspiracy), along with sections of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

The court also imposed a penalty of Rs five lakh each on the two convicts.

The judgment was announced by Special Judge NIA Court Dinesh Kumar Mishra.

On October 24, 2016, Ram Babu Shukla, who retired as a principal of Swami Atmaprakash Brahmachari Junior High School in Kanpur, was murdered while he was returning home on his bicycle.

He was attacked by the accused near Pyondi village in Kanpur. The case was handed over to the NIA in November 2017.

The anti-terror agency had first filed a charge sheet against the two accused on July 12, 2018, after elaborate investigations, which revealed that the accused had been radicalised by the ISIS ideology and were out to kill people whom they believed to be 'disbelievers'.

A third accused, Mohammad Saifulla, had died in Lucknow during the exchange of fire with the Anti-Terrorist Squad on March 7, 2017.