NIA files chargesheet against suspected operatives of terror outfit ISKP in special court

PTI, Dec 5, 2023, 4:30 PM IST

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday filed a chargesheet in the special court here in Gujarat against five persons, including a woman, for their alleged links with terror outfit Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP).

The chargesheet against Ubaid Mir, Hanan Shawl, Mohammad Hajim Shah, Zubair Ahmed Munshi, and Sumerabanu Hanif Malek was submitted in the court of special judge Kamal Sojitra by NIA special public prosecutor Amit Nair.

The ISKP is a UN-designated terrorist organisation.

Investigations by the NIA revealed that the accused had planned to ”train themselves and carry out terror attacks” in Afghanistan after reaching the war-torn country via Iran as directed by their handler, the chargesheet stated.

On June 9, the Gujarat Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) busted this ISKP module and arrested Mir, Shawl, and Shah from Porbandar city in Gujarat. A day later, the ATS nabbed Sumerabanu from Surat and Munshi from Srinagar. All four men hail from Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir.

They were booked under relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and section 120 B (Punishment of criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

The NIA had found a video clip in which the accused can be seen pledging their allegiance to ISKP while flashing sharp weapons sitting under the flag of the outfit, as per the chargesheet.

The interrogation of the accused by the ATS had revealed that all of them were part of the ISKP module and radicalised by their handler Abu Hamza, officials had said. Mir, Shawl and Shah had reached Porbandar to work as fishermen on boats with the given GPS coordinates as directed by Abu Hamza. They had planned to cross the International Maritime Boundary Line and reach Afghanistan via Iran to join ISKP, the ATS had said.

From Porbandar, they were to be taken to Iran on a dhow and were provided with fake passports for Afghanistan and to reach Khorasan via Herat, as per the ATS.

The ATS had found mobile phones, tablets, and sharp weapons in the bags of the accused.

It was revealed that their handler had planned to release the pre-recorded videos and photographs of their ‘sacrifice’ in Afghanistan. In a video clip, they can be seen pledging their allegiance to ISKP while flashing sharp weapons.

The ATS had found copies of various publications promoting radicalisation, including ISKP’s mouthpiece ”Voice of Khorasan” during the search of the house of Sumerabanu Hanif Malek in Surat. Malek had ”admitted” to having been in touch with Abu Hamza and being ”close” to Munshi, the ATS had said.

The case was transferred to the NIA by the Ministry of Home Affairs on June 28.