NIA court convicts Pak-linked LeT operative in recruitment case

Kolakata: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the case from the West Bengal Police in April 2020. Idris, a resident of Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka, was arrested alongside Altaf Ahmed Rather of Jammu and Kashmir during the investigation.

The court convicted Idris under multiple provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The sentencing comes after investigations revealed that Idris and Rather conspired with Tania Parveen to form an LeT module aimed at recruiting local youth in West Bengal.

Tania Parveen was earlier arrested by the Special Task Force (STF) of West Bengal Police in March 2020 in Baduria, North 24 Parganas district. Authorities seized jihadi textbooks and other incriminating material during the search. Investigators found that young individuals were being radicalised via social media to carry out jihad against the Government of India.

Charge-sheets were filed in September 2020 and May 2021 against the three arrested individuals and two Pakistan-based absconders identified as Ayesha alias Ayesha Burhan alias Ayesha Siddiqi alias Syed Ayesha and Bilal alias Bilal Durani. Red and Blue corner notices have been issued against the two absconders. The trial for the remaining accused is ongoing.
(With PTI inputs)