NIA Court Convicts Bangladeshi National For Radicalising Youths, Raising Terror Funds

Bengaluru: A Bangladeshi man has been sentenced to 7-years of rigorous imprisonment by a National Investigation Agency (NIA) court for allegedly radicalising Muslim youths and raising funds for terrorist activities. The accused has been identified as Jahidul Islam alias Kausar. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 57,000 on him in connection with charges related to dacoity, conspiracy, fund-raising, and the procurement of ammunition.

This conviction is part of a series of cases investigated by the NIA, which has now convicted 11 individuals involved in these activities.

According to NIA investigations, Jahidul Islam, who was the Amir (leader) of the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) in India, illegally crossed into India in 2014 after escaping the custody of Bangladeshi police. He had been wanted in connection with the 2005 serial blasts in Bangladesh. During his time in India, Jahidul, along with other associates, was involved in the 2014 Burdwan blast case.

The Burdwan blast took place on October 2 in 2014, in the Khagragarh locality of Burdwan, West Bengal, where two people were killed, and another was injured when a bomb exploded in a house. The NIA has been investigating the case, linking Jahidul Islam and his associates to the incident.

"After the blast, Jahidul and his aides fled to Bengaluru, where he radicalised and recruited gullible Muslim youths from West Bengal and Assam for furthering the anti-India activities of JMB. The accused and his associates had also committed the blast in Bodhgaya in January 2018," the agency said.

NIA investigations further revealed that the accused and his associates had also conspired to raise funds through dacoity to further the activities of JMB, a banned outfit.

During 2018, they had committed four dacoities in Bengaluru as part of this agenda, and had used the looted money for procuring ammunition and arranging hideouts and training to carry out terrorist activities, the probe agency said.