NIA court convicts 13 Muslim youths in 2012 terror module case

Bengaluru, Sep 16: A National Investigation Agency (NIA) special court here on Thursdayconvicted 13 persons accused in the Karnataka terror module case, wherein several educated Muslim youths were arrested from their houses and rented rooms in Bengaluru, Hubballi and other places four years ago.

Sources in the NIA said that this was the first time the accused have pleaded guilty in a terror case. Special court judge Muralidhar Pai adjourned the case to Friday, when he will pronounce the quantum of punishment.

The charge was that the youths had planned to assassinate several prominent personalities including BJP leaders and pro-BJP journalists. Later, a couple of the arrested youths had got clean chit in the case. Some of the accused are still absconding, according to the NIA. The arrest spree started on August 29, 2012 when a team of the Central Crime Branch of the Bengaluru City police nabbed two bike-borne youths in Basaveshwaranagar police limits.

The convicted are: Syed Tanzeem Ahmed of Ben galuru, Dr Imran Ahmed of Bengaluru, Dr Nayeem Siddiqui of Davanagere, Ubaid Ur Rehman of Hyderabad, Shoaib Ahmed Mirza alias Chotu of Hubballi, Abdul Hakeem Jamdar of Hubballi, Riyaz Ahmed Byahatti of Hubballi, Zafar Iqbal Sholapur of Hubb alli, Moha mmed Sa diq Lashkar of Hubballi, Mehaboob Bagalkot of Hubballi, Baba alias Mehboob Bagalkot and Wahid Hussain alias Saahil.

Public prosecutor Arjun Ambalapatta said, the conviction was made mainly under IPC sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion), 307 (attempt to murder) and Section 38 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and Arms Act, and Section 3 read with 25 of the Arms Act, 1959. The sections invoked entail prison terms of up to 10 years.

Police said the suspects were linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba and Harkat-ul-Jehad-al-Islami, and were being directed by handlers in Saudi Arabia to eliminate prominent personalities, including a newspaper editor, a newspaper columnist who is now a BJP MP representing Mysuru-Kodagu constituency, and right-wing leaders.

The case was later transferred to the National Investigation Agency. Six months after the arrests, NIA released two of the suspects, saying there was no prosecutable evidence against them, while a court released on bail a third suspect after the agency failed to file a chargesheet within the stipulated six months of the arrest.

Pleaded guilty in the hope of early release'

The Federation of Muslim NGOs has regretted that the 13 accused pleaded guilty because they were unable to bear the torture of remaining in prison.

"It is a sad reflection of the way investigations are being conducted in terror-related cases. Hundreds of witnesses are cited and a chargesheet running into several thousand pages is filed. The trial takes several years to complete. The draconian Unlawful Activities Prohibition Act ensures no bail is granted and the accused, even if innocent, have to spend several years in jail," read the statement.

"We further call upon the government to ensure the trials are expedited and the Act is amended to ensure bail is granted when proof is not convincing .... Call upon to form an independent review committee comprising a HC judge ... to review the evidence collected before granting sanction for prosecution to ensure innocents are not harassed," read the statement.

"Police say they have ample material evidence against our children. They have been in jail for too long now and have not got bail. Instead of dragging the case, our children agreed to plead guilty as they have already spent four years in jail, and undergo punishment. At least now they can look at an early release after they complete their terms," a family member said, on condition of anonymity.

Only 32 Of 260 gave evidence

The 13 accused stood motionless as NIA special court judge Muralidhar Pai held them guilty, while some of their family members let out exclamations of disappointment.

Around 10.30am Thursday, the men were brought in police vans, each accompanied by a policeman, as they walked to court hall 54 on the third floor of the City Civil Court complex. The judge said he would pronounce the judgment by 3pm. The men were taken out for lunch in the van and brought back to the hall by 2.30pm.

The 13 accused had been denied bail and were in jail during the course of the trial, where only 32 of the 260 witnesses turned up to give evidence.