An NIA Special Court at Rouse Avenue in Delhi has sentenced four operatives of the proscribed Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the ‘Voice of Hind’ terror conspiracy case. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) registered the case in 2021. The four accused had pleaded guilty to the charges after spending around five years in custody. The court convicted them on September 17 and pronounced their sentences on September 28.

Special NIA Judge Vikas Dhull sentenced Umar Nisar alias Qasim Khurasani, Rameez Ahmad Lone and Tanveer Ahmad Bhat to six years of rigorous imprisonment each. The sentences cover offences under Sections 17, 18, 18A, 18B, 19, 38 and 39 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), along with Sections 153A and 153B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Umar Nisa is sentenced to six years under Section 120B read with Sections 18 and 18A of the UAPA.

Afshan Parvaiz Jarabi is sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment. The charges against her included offences under Section 18 of the UAPA read with Section 120B of the IPC, Section 18 of the UAPA, Section 38 read with Section 120B, Section 39 read with Section 120B, and Section 153A read with Section 120B of the IPC.

The court also imposed fines of Rs 36,000 on Umar Nisar, Rs 31,000 on Rameez Ahmad Lone, Rs 23,000 on Tanveer Ahmad Bhat and Rs 9,000 on Afshan Parvaiz Jarabi. The court found the four guilty of criminal conspiracy and offences linked to the dissemination of ISIS material, radicalisation, recruitment of youth and furthering the activities of the banned organisation.

According to the NIA, ISIS had plotted to radicalise and recruit young people in India and encourage them to wage violent jihad against the Indian state. ISIS members operating from conflict zones and cadres in India allegedly created a network using fake online identities to spread the organisation’s propaganda. The online campaign supported terror financing activities.

The investigation found the involvement of cyber entities and their associates in creating, editing, publishing and distributing the India-focused ISIS magazine ‘Sawt-al-Hind’, also known as ‘The Voice of Hind’. The network also allegedly encouraged and helped Indians undertake so-called ‘hijrat’ to ISIS conflict zones in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and other regions.

During the investigation, the NIA recovered digital and other incriminating material. This included PDFs of ‘Voice of Hind’, posters of slain terrorists, radicalising literature, links to ISIS propaganda, an ISIS-flag T-shirt, chats, audio recordings linked to weapon procurement, media and psychological warfare material, and ISIS banners and flags.

The court found Umar Nisar involved in spreading ISIS material through the ‘Voice of Hind’ magazine, Telegram and other online channels to radicalise and recruit youth. Rameez Ahmad Lone and Tanveer Ahmad Bhat were found involved in preaching ISIS ideology and encouraging youth to join the organisation. Afshan Parvaiz Jarabi was involved in publishing and circulating articles for ‘Voice of Hind’ through Telegram channels and promoting ISIS ideology.

The NIA filed a chargesheet and four supplementary chargesheets against eight accused persons. The trial against the remaining accused is pending. Special Public Prosecutor Rahul Tyagi, along with advocates Jatin Khatri and Amit Rohila, appeared for the NIA.