How series of robbery-led NIA to terror funding case?

Three persons have been convicted by the NIA (National Investigation Agency) court in Bengaluru after being linked to Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) for a series of dacoities in Bengaluru in 2020 to raise terror funds.

The alleged accused – Najir Sheikh alias Sohail, 25; Habibur Rahaman SK alias Hussain, 28; and Mosaraf Hossain alias Moosa, 22 – from West Bengal, have been slapped with seven years of rigorous imprisonment on terrorism charges under the UAPA and dacoity under the relevant sections of IPC in two different cases registered in Bengaluru in 2020.

Dacoities for sponsoring terrorism:

According to NIA, dacoity cases which were linked to the alleged members of the Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh were transferred to NIA and registered in April 2020.

The dacoity cases involving the JMB members were part of a grave conspiracy conspired in 2018 to raise terror funds ‘for the cause of the JMB on the pretext of Maal-e-Ganimat (terror funding).’

The alleged accused committed dacoities in four separate places in Bengaluru from February 2018-April 2018 and used stolen properties to sponsor terror activities.

In the first case, which occurred on February 27, 2018, the gang allegedly committed a dacoity of gold jewellery, laptops, cameras and cash in a house at KR Puram in Bengaluru. The case was tasked to NIA on March 31, 2020, after links emerged with a few such dacoities.

On March 15, 2018, the JMB cadre allegedly committed a second robbery at Attibele Town on the outskirts of Bengaluru and stole gold jewellery.

Then, on March 19, a dacoity took place at a house in Hegde Nagar, Bengaluru, and on April 24, 2018, a robbery was reported from another home in Attibele.

Rigorous Imprisonment:

The three men were convicted and sentenced on Monday after they pleaded guilty to the charges brought against them. The alleged accused sought leniency from the court, stating that they were misled into committing crimes and had already spent 3.5 years in prison.

However, the Special Court for terrorism cases made it clear that the period of detention the accused undergo in judicial custody shall be set off against the imprisonment imposed on them as provided under section 428 of the Cr. PC.

With inputs from The Indian Express.