Lucknow NIA Special court sentences 3 Al-Qaeda-linked terrorists to life imprisonment

The convicts -- Minhaj, Masruddin, and Tauheed -- were associated with the Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind module, officials said on Monday.

According to the case details, on July 11, 2021, the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) arrested Minhaj from the Dubagga area. Based on his disclosure, Masruddin and Tauheed were subsequently apprehended. According to officials, a cooker bomb was recovered from Minhaj's residence, while explosive materials and a pistol were seized from the other accused.

Investigating agencies said that the trio was planning serial blasts in Uttar Pradesh around August 15, 2021. They were also allegedly preparing for a major attack using a human bomb.

During interrogation, it emerged that the accused were acting on the instructions of Umar Halmandi, a handler of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, who was actively involved in recruitment and strengthening the terror network in India. Agencies further stated that the conspiracy was aimed at spreading unrest in the state and across the country following the Ram Mandir verdict.

The arrests took place based on information shared by one Al-Qaeda member, Umar Halmandi, who had himself identified and recruited some persons in Lucknow for raising the Al-Qaeda module in the region.

He had further informed the police about the Al Qaeda affiliate 'Ansaar Gajwatul Hind' (AGH), an outfit raised to carry out a series of terrorist acts before August 15, 2021, in various cities of UP, especially Lucknow.

Special Public Prosecutor Mithilesh Kumar Singh detailed the investigation and prosecution of the case.

Speaking to ANI, Special Public Prosecutor Mithilesh Kumar Singh said that the Uttar Pradesh ATS had received inputs about Umar Halmandi, an Al-Qaeda associate operating along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, who had been tasked with establishing links in India.

"The ATS had information that Umar Halmandi, who is associated with Al-Qaeda, was working on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and was given the responsibility of linking Al-Qaeda in India. In this context, he contacted Tauheed, and Tauheed contacted Minhaj in Lucknow. Minhaj then involved Masruddin, and through Masruddin, three others - Muied, Mustaqueem, and Shakeel - were added," he said.

He further said that the accused primarily communicated online due to restrictions during the COVID-19 period, which initially made evidence collection challenging.

"It was 2021, the time of COVID. So at that time, physical contact was difficult. All contacts were being made online. And online itself, Tauheed contacted Minhaj. After that, it was difficult to gather evidence at that time. And when these people were caught based on information, the mobiles recovered from them had a lot of chatting... and through that, the whole case came out," he added.

The prosecution's side presented 42 witnesses and 149 documents. Apart from that, 109 material exhibits were proved. From the defence's side, 5 witnesses were presented, the SPP said.

The court's verdict is being seen as a major success for the security agencies.

Several Al-Qaeda-linked terrorists were arrested and jailed in November last year, too.

In November, a special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) convicted two more accused, sending them to jail for a period of 20 months in the Al-Qaeda terror conspiracy case linked to Al Qaeda.

Mohd. Mustaqueem and Shakeel, both residents of Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), were convicted by the NIA court under section 25 (1B) (a) of the Arms Act, read with section 120B of the IPC. The Special Court at Lucknow sentenced the duo to 20 months' imprisonment. A fine of Rs. 5000 each has also been imposed against them. (ANI)