LeT member, 6 others sentenced in 2023 Bengaluru prison radicalisation case
The case was initially registered by the Bengaluru Central Crime Branch in July 2023 following the seizure of arms, ammunition and digital devices from habitual offenders
A special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has sentenced seven accused, including mastermind and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) member T Naseer, in the 2023 Bengaluru prison radicalisation case linked to the LeT.
Apart from Naseer, the court has sentenced accused Syed Suhail Khan, Mohammed Umar, Zahid Tabrez, Syed Mudassir Pasha, Mohammed Faisal Rabbani and Salman Khan.
All seven have been awarded seven years of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 48,000 under various sections of the IPC, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Arms Act and Explosives Substances Act.
The accused had earlier pleaded guilty of the charges filed by the NIA in the case relating to a LeT-linked terror conspiracy hatched inside the Parapanna Agrahara Central Prisons, Bengaluru, by Naseer. The conspiracy involved identifying, recruiting, training, converting and radicalising of gullible youth lodged in the prison to execute terror activities in India.
The case was initially registered by the Bengaluru Central Crime Branch (CCB) in July 2023 following the seizure of arms, ammunition and digital devices from habitual offenders. The offenders had planned to carry out terror strikes in Bengaluru City in furtherance of the violent anti-India agenda of the proscribed LeT terror outfit.
The case was taken over by the NIA, which unveiled a larger conspiracy to facilitate the escape of Naseer, a life convict in several terror cases, while on way from the prison to court. Naseer was an under-trial prisoner in the 2008 Bengaluru serial blast case at the time.
Following a detailed investigation, the agency had chargesheeted 11 arrested accused and an absconder, identified as Junaid Ahmed.
Of these, accused Salman Khan was arrested after he was successfully extradited from the Republic of Rwanda as a result of the coordinated efforts of NIA and the concerned agencies in Rwanda.
Efforts are ongoing to track and arrest Junaid Ahmed, NIA sources said.
