Mumbai: A special NIA court here on Saturday sentenced an anaesthesiologist to six years of rigorous imprisonment after he pleaded guilty in a 2023 Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terror conspiracy case.
The accused, Adnanali Sarkar, had told the court that he was “repenting his wrong deeds” and pleading guilty for his own future and his family.
Special NIA Judge Abhay A Joglekar convicted him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or UAPA, and the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for criminal conspiracy and disappearance of evidence.
Accepting Sarkar’s guilty plea, the judge said that while it was his first offence, the charges against him were serious.
“This court requires that there should be a deterrent qua a message to the society, wherein such act should not crop up within society in any form, more especially when it concerns the national security being put at stake by such elements,” the judge said.
Sarkar and the other accused had been arrested in connection with an ISIS module bust. They were accused of actively supporting the proscribed terrorist organisation.
When the court framed charges in the case on June 25 this year, Sarkar had pleaded not guilty.
However, on October 28, he moved an application before the court expressing his willingness to plead guilty and seeking the minimum punishment permissible under the law on humanitarian grounds.
In his plea, Sarkar said he was a qualified anaesthesiologist who had been practising before his arrest and had no criminal antecedents.
Sarkar was the sole breadwinner of his family, comprising his elderly parents, wife and four children, who were facing severe financial hardship following his incarceration, his plea said.
The court gave him seven days to reconsider his decision and understand the legal consequences of his plea. However, Sarkar remained firm, reiterating that he wanted to plead guilty voluntarily.
After a scrutiny of records, the court “safely inferred” that Sarkar had pleaded guilty “without any force, coercion, threat, inducement or undue influence”. It then convicted Sarkar as per the Code of Criminal Procedure.
“The accused No.5 (Sarkar) will be required to undergo such punishment propelling a stringent message to such antisocial elements,” the court said.
According to the prosecution, Sarkar and the co-accused were ISIS members and had hatched a criminal conspiracy to further its terrorist activities with the intention to threaten the unity, integrity, security, and sovereignty of India.
The NIA (National Investigation Agency) alleged that the accused created WhatsApp and social media groups to conduct online lectures on radical ideology related to ‘violent and armed jihad’ and ‘khilafat’ under the garb of religious preaching to radicalise and recruit Muslim youth.
They also allegedly shared material and do-it-yourself (DIY) kits to train recruits in manufacturing Improvised Explosive Devices and small weapons, the prosecution said.
The court directed that the trial will continue against the remaining accused in the case.
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
To get details on exclusive and budget-friendly property deals in Mumbai & surrounding regions, do visit: https://budgetproperties.in/
