NIA court convicts 7 in LeT-linked Bengaluru prison radicalisation case; mastermind T Naseer among accused

New Delhi [India], April 22 : A special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has sentenced seven accused persons, including mastermind and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) member T Naseer, in the 2023 Bengaluru prison radicalisation case linked to terror conspiracy activities inside a prison facility.

Apart from Naseer, the court also sentenced accused Syed Suhail Khan, Mohammed Umar, Zahid Tabrez, Syed Mudassir Pasha, Mohammed Faisal Rabbani and Salman Khan to seven years of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 48,000 each under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UA(P) Act), Arms Act and Explosives Substances Act.

According to the NIA, the accused had earlier pleaded guilty to the charges filed by the NIA in the case RC-28/2023/NIA/DLI - relating to a LeT-linked terror conspiracy hatched inside the Parapanna Agrahara Central Prisons, Bengaluru, by T Naseer.

Investigations revealed that the conspiracy involved identifying, recruiting, training and radicalising inmates within the prison to further terrorist activities in India, with the intent of advancing the banned organisation's anti-India agenda.

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 who were allegedly planning terror attacks in Bengaluru city.

Subsequently, the case was taken over by the NIA, which unveiled a larger conspiracy to facilitate the escape of T Naseer, a life convict in several terror cases, while on the way from the prison to court. Naseer was an under-trial prisoner in the 2008 Bengaluru serial blast cases at the time.

Following meticulous investigation, the NIA filed a chargesheet against 11 arrested accused and one absconder, identified as Junaid Ahmed, in the case. Of these, the 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 on to track and arrest Junaid Ahmed.

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