Lucknow Terror Case: NIA Court Hands Life Terms to 3 AQIS Operatives

Lucknow: A Special Court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA)/Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in Lucknow on Monday sentenced three key operatives of an Al-Qaeda-linked module to life imprisonment for conspiring to carry out terrorist attacks across Uttar Pradesh. The court convicted Musiruddin alias Musir alias Raju, a resident of Lucknow, Minhaj Ahmed alias Minhaj, a resident of Lucknow and Tauheed Ahmed Shah alias Sobu Shah, a resident of Jammu and Kashmir under multiple stringent provisions of IPC, UAPA, Explosive Substances Act and Arms Act. The case dates back to 2021, when ATS lodged a case based on a specific tip-off that a member of terrorist organisation Al-Qaeda named as Umar is operating from Pakistan-Afghanistan border and has been

recruited by Al-Qaeda to increase the activities of Al-Qaeda in India and for this he was giving instructions to a terror group named Al-Qaeda Indian Subcontinent (AQIS). Umar was tasked with recruiting people in India for AQIS and radicalising them to carry out terrorist activities in India. All three convicted accused were recruited by Umar and on his directions they were planning to carry out terror attacks in different cities of Uttar Pradesh including government and private institutions and crowded places. The accused were planning to carry out explosive attacks as well as human bomb attacks in Uttar Pradesh. The accused were arrested by ATS and Lucknow police in a coordinated operation. The Special Public Prosecutor MK Singh said that all three accused have been awarded life imprisonment by the Special Court of NIA/ATS along with a fine of Rs 50000 each.