The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday filed a chargesheet against one of the two members of the ISIS Jharkhand module arrested last year, as part of the agency’s crackdown on the proscribed global terrorist organisation.
As per the chargesheet filed before the NIA Special Court in Ranchi under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the accused, identified as Faizan Ansari alias Faiz, was involved in propagating ISIS propaganda and in the recruitment of individuals.
“Ansari created and administered multiple ‘ISIS-aligned’ cyber groups on social media platforms such as Telegram and Instagram for dissemination of terrorist propaganda materials, including ISIS magazines ‘Voice of Hind and ‘Voice of Khorasan’ to influence and recruit youngsters to carry out violent attacks in India,” the chargesheet added.
“The accused had taken an oath of allegiance (Bayath) to the self-styled Khalifa (leader) of the ISIS,” it said.
Faiz, a resident of Ranchi, was arrested by the NIA on July 20 last year, while his other associate, Omar Bahadur alias Rahul Sen, was arrested later in September.
The case against the duo was registered after the NIA received inputs from the Union Home Ministry regarding an alleged conspiracy hatched by ISIS to “disturb the unity, integrity, security and sovereignty of the country through (the) promotion of terrorist acts and activities”.
In its chargesheet, the probe agency alleges that both the accused had “hatched a conspiracy to further the unlawful activities” to “strike fear and terror amongst the people and threaten the security of India as well as its secular ethos, culture and the democratic system of governance”.
The NIA chargesheet also revealed that in their investigation, the agency found “a larger conspiracy with international linkages and the involvement of foreign-based ISIS handlers” in the case.
It also showed “a complex network of individuals committed to propagating the extremist and violent ideology of ISIS within India”
Further investigations in the case are continuing in accordance with the provisions of section 173(8) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).