"Plan To Establish Caliphate In India": NIA Court Convicts Five In Islamic State Khorasan Province Terror Case

A special NIA court in New Delhi has recently convicted five individuals, including Sadiya Anwar Shaikh from Pune, in connection with the activities of the banned Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISKP) group.

Sadiya has been under the scrutiny of law enforcement and intelligence agencies since 2015 due to her alleged links with IS as per a report by The Indian Express.

On 12 July 2020, the NIA arrested Sadiya and another Pune resident, Nabeel Siddiqui Khatri, in relation to the terror case.

The NIA claimed that Sadiya and Nabeel had connections with Jahanazaib Sami Wani and his wife Hina Bashir Beigh, a Kashmiri couple initially arrested by the Delhi Police Special Cell on 8 March 2020, for their association with the banned ISKP. The NIA took over the case against Wani and Beigh on 20 March 2020.

Abdullah Basith, arrested in another ISIS-related case, was also implicated in the ISKP case for his association with Wani and Beigh.

Subsequently, Abdur Rahman, alias Dr Brave, was arrested by the NIA in August 2020. The NIA alleges that Rahman, an MBBS student from Bengaluru, was radicalised by the other accused and travelled to Syria in December 2013, participating in various terrorist activities of ISIS.

According to the NIA, the special court sentenced Wani to imprisonment for various durations, ranging from 3 to 20 years, along with fines for offences under different sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Wani was accused of planning to establish a Caliphate in India and conspiring to carry out 100 IED blasts in a single day nationwide.

Hina Beigh, the second accused, was convicted under UAPA sections and sentenced to seven years in prison. She professed to be an ISIS member and aided her husband in identifying like-minded individuals to further the terrorist organisation's agenda against India.

Sadiya was convicted under UAPA sections and sentenced to seven years in prison for professing to be an ISIS member and attempting to unite all terrorist groups under the ISIS banner. She also allegedly attempted to procure a suicide jacket through Wani.

On 26 January 2018, Sadiya was arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir police due to suspicious activities but was later released due to insufficient evidence and returned to her family.

In February of the same year, she held a press conference in Pune claiming she went to Jammu and Kashmir to secure admission in a nursing course at a local college. She expressed her desire to focus on her education and not dwell on her past.