Pune woman among 5 convicted in Islamic State Khorasan Province terror case

During her arrest by the NIA, Sadiya was a 20-year-old resident of Vishrantwadi and a second year student of a Mass Communications and Journalism course at a college in Baramati. At the time, Khatri was 28-years-old and resided in Kondhwa, where she worked as a gym instructor.

During the course of the probe, Abdullah Basith, who was arrested in another ISIS terror offence, was also named as an accused in the ISKP case as he was found to be associated with Wani and Beigh. The NIA then arrested Abdur Rahman, alias Dr Brave, in August 2020. According to the NIA, a trial against Abdur Rehman is ongoing.

NIA has alleged that Rehman, an MBBS student from Bengaluru, was radicalised by the other accused persons and had travelled to Syria in December 2013. “In Syria, he had participated in various terrorist activities of ISIS, and had learnt to develop a medical application for the treatment of ISIS terrorists as well as a laser guided anti-tank missile application for ISIS,” stated a press release issued on Monday.

NIA had filed a chargesheet in this case on March 20, 2020, while the supplementary chargesheet was submitted on January 12, 2021.

As per the press release, the NIA special court on monday passed an order sentencing accused Jahanzaib Sami to varying periods of imprisonment, ranging between 3 to 20 years along with a fine for offences committed under different sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and under IPC sections 120B and 124A.

“Sami was charged with planning to establish a Caliphate in India and conspiring to carry out 100 IED blasts in a single day throughout the country,” the press release stated.

“NIA investigations had revealed that the accused was also raising, receiving and providing funds through crypto currency to promote the ideology of ISIS, a banned global terror outfit. Sami was also involved in exploiting the sentiments of gullible youth to fuel the anti CAA/NRC protests,” it stated.

The press release further stated that a second accused, Hina Beigh, has been convicted under UAPA sections and sentenced to seven years imprisonment. “She had professed to being a member of ISIS and had helped her husband to identify like-minded persons to carry forward the terror organisation’s nefarious agenda against India,” it stated.

It then mentions that Abdullah Basith has been convicted under UAPA sections and has been sentenced to the period already undergone by him. As per NIA investigations, Basith, a self-professed ISIS member, had helped accused Jahanzaib Sami in preparing the ISIS Magazine “Voice of Hind”, the press release stated.

The court also convicted Sadiya under UAPA sections and awarded her seven years imprisonment as she had “professed to being a member of ISIS and had tried to bring all the terrorist groups under the banner of ISIS. She had also tried to procure a suicide jacket through accused Jahanzaib Sami,” as mentioned in press release.

Khatri has been convicted under UAPA sections and was awarded imprisonment up to 15 years “for providing funds to accused Jahanzaib Sami for procurement of weapons”.

“He also conducted preparatory blasts in connivance with Jahanzaib Sami to further the ideology of ISIS. He will have to pay Rs. 2.5 lakh fine, or serve an additional two years in jail, in case of failure to pay the fine imposed under section 17 of UAPA,” the [press release stated.

In December 2015, Maharashtra’s Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) had provided counseling to Sadiya as she was mentally set on going to Syria to join the Islamic State (IS) after she was influenced by online operatives of the terror group.

On January 26, 2018, Sadiya was put under arrest by the Jammu and Kashmir police due to her suspicious activities, but was later released due to a lack of evidence and handed over to her family. In February the same year, she held a press conference in Pune saying “she had gone to Jammu and Kashmir to secure admission in a nursing course at a local college.” She had also stated before media persons that she doesn’t “want to look back at her past,” and only wanted to continue her education.