On Wednesday, a special court of the National Investigating Agency (NIA) in Bengaluru convicted and sentenced two terrorists of the Islamic terror outfit Al-Qaeda in Indian Sub-continent (AQIS) to seven years of imprisonment. The two terrorists identified as Akthar Hussain Laskar and Abdul Aleem Mondal were involved in a conspiracy to send young people to the Khorasan province of Afghanistan to undergo terrorist training.

The two terrorists from West Bengal were also fined Rs 41,000 and Rs 51,000, respectively in a case registered on August 30, 2022. They were charged under sections dealing with criminal conspiracy and other offences under the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

“The conviction of the two AQIS members marks a major success in NIA’s sustained efforts to identify the banned outfit’s ‘Handlers’ and prosecute them. As per NIA investigations, the two convicts had been ‘radicalized’ and recruited by foreign-based online handlers of AQIS and were actively engaged in furthering the activities of the AQIS. Post recruitment by AIQIS, the men had joined various Telegram Groups,” the NIA said in a press release.

“NIA investigations have further revealed that the men had conspired to undertake Hijra to the Khorasan province of Afghanistan, where they also intended to undergo training. Further, the two men had planned to carry out Jihad against members of a particular community in India after undertaking training in Khorasan, as part of the AQIS conspiracy to promote its anti-India agenda through acts of terror and violence. They were also in the process of ‘radicalizing’ and recruiting other youth into the AQIS, besides motivating them to commit Hijra to Khorasan of Afghanistan,” the central agency further said.