Lagatar24 Desk
Mumbai, Jan 6: Two ISIS operatives, Rizwan Ahmed and Mohsin Ibrahim Sayyed, were found guilty by a special NIA court in Mumbai of attempting to radicalise Muslim youths to join the Islamic State (IS).
The accused used to encourage Muslim youths to fly abroad to join IS/ISIL/ISIS in order to conduct war against India’s allies.
A case was filed in this regard with Mumbai’s Kalachowki Police Station in 2015. The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) was investigating the situation. The case was thereafter handed over to the NIA, which re-registered it.
In July 2016, the NIA issued a charge sheet after concluding the investigation.
Rizwan and Mohsin persuaded, harassed, and influenced vulnerable Muslim teenagers from the Malwani neighbourhood of Malad (W), Mumbai to join the terror group, according to the NIA probe.
“Both the accused also compelled the youths to become fidayeen fighters for the cause of Islam, and were instrumental in sending them for ‘hijarat’ for joining ISIS,” said an NIA official.
The NIA gathered a large amount of evidence against them and recorded the testimonies of witnesses who testified against them. To prove their case in court, the agency gathered documentary and digital evidence against the defendants.
The accused had pled not guilty throughout the trial. The NIA presented their case based on the evidence they had gathered and was able to prove their case in court beyond a reasonable doubt.
The NIA court convicted both of the suspects on January 5 after reviewing all of the evidence and both parties’ arguments. The court stated that the NIA was successful in proving the guilt of both the accused.
The severity of sentence would be pronounced on Friday, January 7.
