4th conviction in Shivamogga IS conspiracy case; NIA court jails accused for 6 years

According to the NIA, the case relates to an IS module allegedly operating in Shivamogga district, where the accused were radicalised by an online handler using the alias ‘Colonel’, later identified as Mohammed Shaheed Faisal. The NIA alleged that Faisal is absconding and wanted in several NIA terror cases.

Baig was allegedly radicalised and recruited by co-accused Maaz Muneer Ahmed and Syed Yasin, and he arranged the hideout in Bengaluru on Ahmed’s instructions, the NIA alleged.

The investigation also found that Baig received funds in the form of cryptocurrency in bank accounts belonging to his friends. The cryptocurrency was allegedly converted into fiat currency and used to make payments for the hideout, the agency said.

The court convicted him under Sections 120B and 121A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 17, 18, 20, 38, 39 and 40 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The NIA has so far filed four chargesheets against 12 accused in the case.

Three other convicts

Earlier, the court had convicted three accused — Arafath Ali, 26; Zabiulla alias Jabiulla alias Mohammed Zabiulla alias Charbi, 34; and Nadeem Faizal, 29 — in the case.

Arafath Ali was sentenced to six years’ rigorous imprisonment in April 2026 after pleading guilty to the charges. Ali had fled India in January 2020 and was arrested by the NIA upon his arrival at Delhi airport in September 2023 after being deported from Kenya. Arafath Ali is also a co-accused in a case of painting provocative graffiti in Mangaluru in December 2020 which is still under trial.

Two other accused — Zabiulla alias Jabiulla alias Mohammed Zabiulla alias Charbi, 34, and Nadeem Faizal, 29, both residents of Shivamogga — were sentenced to six years in prison in November 2025.