Uttar Pradesh: ISIS Men Sentenced To Death By Special NIA Court, Killed Ram Babu Shukla For Wearing Kalava And Tilak

In a verdict issued on Thursday (14 September), the special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Lucknow sentenced two individuals associated with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Atif Muzaffar (29) and Mohammed Faisal Khan (30), to the death penalty.

The court found them guilty of the murder of retired school principal Ram Babu Shukla, an act perpetrated in pursuit of the ISIS agenda aimed at instilling fear and terror among the populace.

Furthermore, the special court imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on both defendants. The ruling was delivered by Special Judge NIA Court Dinesh Kumar Mishra who categorised the crime as rarest of the rare.

The charges against the two accused included sections of IPC 302 (murder), 120 B (criminal conspiracy), in addition to sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

Atif and Faisal were also implicated in a terrorist attack case related to the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train on 7 March 2017, which resulted in numerous injuries among the passengers on board.

These two individuals were apprehended by the UP Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) during a confrontation in the old Lucknow city area in March 2017, during which another accomplice, Saifullah, was fatally shot.

However, the death sentences imposed on Atif Muzaffar and Mohammed Faisal Khan are related to the murder of Ram Babu Shukla, a retired principal of a school in Kanpur.

Ram Babu Shukla had retired as the principal of Swami Atmaprakash Brahmchari Junior High School in Kanpur. On 24 October 2016, he was fatally shot by the two accused near village Pyondi in Kanpur while he was riding his bicycle back home.

The case was transferred to the NIA in November 2017. Following their investigation, the NIA revealed that the accused had been radicalized by the ideology of ISIS and had set out to target individuals they considered non-believers of Islam (Qafirs).

Jagran reported that they targeted Shukla because he wore kalava and applied tilak on forehead.

The NIA had filed a chargesheet against the two accused on 12 July 2018, stating that they had executed the attack on Shukla in a 'lone wolf' style. Atif worked at a mobile repair store, while Faisal was employed at a general store.

Furthermore, the NIA disclosed that both Atif and Faisal had attempted to bomb Prime Minister Modi's Dussehra rally in Lucknow in 2016. The NIA's chargesheet also indicated that the two had traveled to West Bengal and Kerala to procure weapons for training and bomb-making and had also made efforts to reach Syria via Pakistan.