NIA Court Sentences Two Bangladeshi Terror Group Members To Seven Years Rigorous Imprisonment

A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Tuesday (29 September) convicted two members of Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), a proscribed terrorist organisation in Bangladesh, for conspiracy to commit terror attacks in India and sentenced them to seven years rigorous imprisonment.

An NIA spokesperson said that the NIA Court in Kolkata also slapped a fine of Rs 26,000 on Sahadat Hussain aka Babu, of Bangladesh’s Jessore, who was arrested on 23 November 2017, and of Rs 33,000 on Umar Farooque aka Mahi, a resident of Dhaka division, who was arrested on 28 November 2017.

Both were charged under several sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the case registered by STF Kolkata on 21 November 2017 following the arrest of five ABT members in Kolkata. Four of the arrested ABT members were Bangladeshi nationals and one an Indian national. The NIA took over the case on 1 March 2018.

During investigation, it was revealed that the Bangladeshi members of ABT entered India in 2016 in pursuance of a conspiracy to commit terrorist acts in India.

“The accused persons also tried to procure arms and ammunition in Kolkata. Several incriminating materials like a map of Sealdah Railway Station, Howrah Bridge, literature on explosives and bomb-making, fake Aadhaar Card, fake PAN Card were seized from their possession,” the official said.

The trial against remaining three arrested ABT members is still continuing.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)