Jaipur court convicts former IOCL manager under UAPA

Sirajuddin was convicted under the IPC and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Sirajuddin was convicted under the IPC and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. (File)

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A Special Court for NIA cases in Jaipur on Friday convicted Karnataka native Mohammed Sirajuddin for arranging and assisting active “Islamic State operatives” in organising online discussions and meetings towards planning and executing “acts of violence and terrorism.”

Mohammed Sirajuddin alias Siraj alias Mohammed Siraj, a resident of Jawahar Nagar in Jaipur and a permanent resident of Gulbarga, Karnataka, was convicted under various sections including 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 13 (punishment for unlawful activities), 38 (offence relating to membership of a terrorist organisation) and 39 (offence relating to support given to a terrorist organisation) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Sirajuddin was engaged as an assistant manager with the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) in Jaipur and was living with his wife and two kids when he was arrested by the Rajasthan ATS on December 10, 2015. Subsequently, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the investigation in February 2016 and lodged a case at NIA police station, New Delhi, on February 29, 2016.

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The NIA said that the case pertains to promotion of the IS (Islamic State) ideology, which is a proscribed terror organisation, and inciting others over social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp and Telegram, to join IS and to indulge in terrorist activities.

It said the accused “was spreading dis-affection among Muslim youth and inciting them against India in order to execute their violent designs. He actively used online chats and messages to advocate and spread the philosophy of Islamic State in various parts of the world. He also arranged and assisted in organising online discussions and meetings among active ISIS operatives to plan and execute acts of violence and terrorism.”

At the time of NIA filing its charge-sheet in 2016, the then public prosecutor Ashwini Sharma had said that, “Sirajuddin was preparing to go to Tripoli, in Libya, and his passport was ready. He was very active on the internet and was communicating with several people in various countries, including Libya, Iran, Iraq, Syria.”

Following the conviction, Sirajuddin’s brother Mohammed Riyaz told The Indian Express, “We were hoping that he will be acquitted. We will appeal in the High Court.”

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As for the investigation, he said that the family’s concern was that the ATS “seized laptop and mobile from Sirajuddin on December 6 but arrested him on December 10 [2015].” Sirajuddin’s former lawyer, Paker Farooq, who has since passed away, had flagged this as a “major concern.”

As per official records, one laptop (Apple MacBook), one dual SIM mobile, two SIM cards and one Secure Digital (SD) card was seized from Sirajuddin’s possession at the time of his arrest.

The quantum of sentence will be pronounced by the Special NIA court Jaipur on Monday, February 20.

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