Bhubaneswar: A Delhi court on Tuesday awarded a more than seven-year jail term to four operatives of Al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) for conspiracy to commit terror activities across the country and recruiting members for the militant outfit.
Special Judge Sanjay Khanagwal awarded 7 years and 5 months imprisonment to Maulana Mohd Abdul Rehman Kasmi, Mohd Asif, Zafar Masood and Abdul Sami.
Abdul Rehman Kasmi is a native of Cuttack district and was arrested from Salepur on December 16, 2015, during a joint operation of Delhi police and Odisha police.
The judge had on Friday convicted the four and acquitted two alleged AQIS operatives, Syed Mohd Zishan Ali and Sabeel Ahmed, in this case. The court had in 2017 framed charges against the accused, while it discharged another accused – Syed Anzar Shah – in the case.
Delhi Police’s Special Cell had alleged that Kasmi ran a madrassa in Uttar Pradesh where several students were enrolled and he was trying to radicalise them for terror activities.
The police had claimed that Kasmi was suspected to have international links in countries like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Dubai.
