Two Islamic State operatives plead guilty before the court in Delhi

Two Islamic State operatives plead guilty before the court in Delhi

Two “remorseful” people have pleaded guilty before a Delhi court in a case of criminal conspiracy by the ISIS to establish its base in India by recruiting Muslim youth through different social media platforms to carry out acts of terror in the country.

Accused Amjad khan and Mohammed Aleem moved applications before Special Judge Parveen Singh on Monday saying they were “remorseful for the acts alleged against them”, and undertook not to indulge in similar acts and activities in future, advocate Qausar Khan said.

The accused want to return to the mainstream society and rehabilitate themselves, the lawyer told the court.

“The accused are having clean antecedents, even their conduct in jail was satisfactory and there is nothing adverse against them…the accused are pleading guilty voluntarily without any pressure, threat, coercion, inducement or undue influence and he that he understands the consequences,” their plea said.

The court is likely to take up their plea on September 11.

The case, registered by the NIA on December 9, 2015, under various sections of the IPC and the UA(P) Act, pertains to the larger criminal conspiracy hatched by the ISIS to establish its base in India by recruiting Muslim youth for the proscribed terror group through different social media platforms, the NIA said.

The accused had formed Junood-ul-Khilafa-Fil-Hind organisation, seeking to establish a caliphate in India and pledging allegiance to ISIS, to recruit Muslim youth and commit acts of terrorism in India at the behest of Syria-based Yusuf-Al-Hindi who is purportedly the media chief of ISIS, the NIA said.

The NIA filed charge sheets against the accused persons in 2016-2017.

After six accused pleaded guilty in August 6, the court convicted them under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC, and various sections of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Explosive Substances Act.

This case was first of its kind in which terrorist conspiracy of this magnitude involving online radicalisation was effected on cyber space in the aftermath of declaration of Islamic Caliphate by ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2014, the NIA had said.

Source: Tribune India