Pak-Linked LeT Recruitment Case: NIA Court Sentences Key Accused To 10-Year RI

New Delhi: A special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday sentenced a key accused to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment in a Pakistan-linked case involving recruitment and radicalisation of Muslim youth for the banned terror outfit Laskar-e-Taiba (LeT) in West Bengal.

The NIA special court in Kolkata convicted Sayyad M Idris, a resident of Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The court awarded concurrent sentences, with the maximum punishment being 10 years of rigorous imprisonment. Idris has also been fined Rs 70,000, the agency said.

The case was taken over by the NIA from the West Bengal Police in April 2020. During the investigation, the agency arrested Idris along with one Altaf Ahmed Rather of Jammu and Kashmir.

According to the probe, the two accused had conspired with one Tania Parveen to form an LeT module aimed at recruiting local youth. Tania Parveen was arrested earlier by the Special Task Force (STF) of the West Bengal Police in March 2020 during a search operation at Baduria in North 24 Parganas district, based on specific intelligence inputs. Several incriminating materials, including jihadi literature, were seized during the raid.

Investigators found that the accused had been using social media platforms to radicalise youth and motivate them to undertake jihad against the Indian government.

The NIA subsequently filed chargesheets in September 2020 and May 2021 against the three arrested accused, as well as two Pakistan-based absconders identified as Ayesha (Ayesha Burhan/Ayesha Siddiqi/Syed Ayesha) and Bilal (Bilal Durani).

The Red Corner and Blue Corner notices have been issued against the two absconders, respectively, while the trial against the remaining arrested accused is currently underway.

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