Bengaluru resident is alleged kingpin of group plotting terror in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
BENGALURU:
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday filed a chargesheet against 17 persons accused of furthering the terror activities of ISIS/Daish in India, especially in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
The chargesheet was filed under section 120B of the IPC, sections 17, 18, 18A, 18B, 19, 20, 38 and 39 of The UA(P) Act, and section 25(1B)(a) of the Arms Act before the NIA Special Court in Bengaluru.
The accused are: Mahboob Pasha (48), r/o Bengaluru; Khaja Moideen @Jalal (52) r/o Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu; Abdul Samad (29), r/o Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu; Y Thowfeek (28), r/o Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu; Syed Ali Navas (32), r/o Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu; Jaffar Ali (26), r/o Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu; Abdul Shameem (29), r/o Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu; Imran Khan (33), r/o Mandya, Karnataka; Mohammed Haneef Khan (30), r/o Bengaluru, Karnataka; Mohammed Mansoor Ali Khan (33), r/o Bengaluru, Karnataka; Saleem Khan @ Kolar Saleem (27), r/o Kolar, Karnataka; Hussain Shariff (33), r/o Bengaluru, Karnataka; Ejaz Pasha @Azaz Pasha (47), r/o Bengaluru, Karnataka; Zabiulla (24), r/o Bengaluru, Karnataka; Syed Fasiur Rehaman (37), r/o Bengaluru, Karnataka; Mohammed Zaid (25), r/o Kolar, Karnataka, and M Sadiq Basha (41), r/o Bengaluru, Karnataka.
The case was initially registered at the Suddaguntepalya police station in Bengaluru on January 10, 2020.
According to the chargesheet, Mehboob Pasha, a resident of Gurappanapalya, Bengaluru, in association with Khaja Moideen and Sadiq Basha formed a terror group for spreading the ideology and activities of ISIS through its offshoot known as Al-Hind. They were conspiring with other co-accused since April 2019 for carrying out terror attacks in South India, especially in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and for establishing an Islamic ‘Khilafat’ in India.
Pasha and Moideen have been accused of recruiting vulnerable youths and procuring arms and ammunition, and large quantities of explosive materials for making powerful IEDs. They also collected jungle training material to conduct training at Shivanasamudra and Gundelpet and for securing hideouts. The accused were also communicating with an unknown foreign ISIS handler through secure chat (dark web) for perpetrating ISIS activities in India.
The NIA has declared a cash reward of Rs. 5 lakh for information on absconding accused Abdul Matheen Ahmed Taahaa.
