New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) Friday filed a chargesheet against five individuals allegedly associated with the terror group al-Qaeda who are accused of infiltrating into India, forging documents to settle in the country, and “motivating, radicalising and indoctrinating vulnerable Muslim youth” to carry out terrorist activities in India.
The chargesheet against the accused, who were arrested by the Gujarat Police Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) earlier this year, was filed in a special NIA court in Ahmedabad.
According to an NIA press release, the probe so far has revealed that the five men — Mohammed Sojib Miyan, Munna Khalid Ansari alias Munna Khan, Azarul Islam alias Jahangir alias Aakash Khan, Abdul Latif alias Mominul Ansari and Farid — were operating on instructions given by their al-Qaeda handlers “based across the Indo-Bangladesh border”.
The counterterrorism agency also said the accused collected funds to deposit in their bank accounts.
The NIA said the two handlers, identified as Shariful Islam and Sahiba, have absconded, adding that they played an “instrumental” role in the radicalisation of Muslim youth in India. The NIA has activated a diplomatic channel to arrest them, it said.
“Acting on the explicit directives of these handlers, the accused infiltrated India through illegal means, subsequently procuring forged documents to settle in India and operate discreetly in the furtherance of terrorist activities on Indian soil,” the NIA said in its statement.
“They (handlers) provided comprehensive training, including the use of covert communication applications, to evade detection and ensure the secrecy and anonymity of their activities. Furthermore, these handlers were instrumental in the radicalisation and motivation of vulnerable Muslim youth in India.”
During the investigation, the NIA said, they found many foreign agents settled “quietly” in different parts of the country who facilitated illegal infiltration into India.
“The in-depth investigations by the NIA have established that foreign citizens illegally infiltrate into India, obtain fake ID cards and documents, get jobs and covertly carry out activities on behalf of foreign terror organisations such as al-Qaeda in the form of sleeper cells,” it added.
The Ministry of Home Affairs had transferred the case from Gujarat ATS to NIA on 19 June. The NIA filed an FIR on 22 June.
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)
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