New Delhi/Ahmedabad, July 23 (IANS) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a chargesheet against the prime accused in a Gujarat-based online terror radicalisation case, alleging that he conspired to promote violent jihad, planned targeted killings and worked towards the secession of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh from India, probe agency officials said on Thursday.
The chargesheet was filed before the NIA Special Court in Ahmedabad against the accused, identified as Faijan, under relevant provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Arms Act, the agency said.
According to the NIA, the case was initially registered by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) after Faijan was arrested on the basis of what the agency described as reliable intelligence inputs.
“The NIA took over the investigation from the Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) in March this year and re-registered it as a regular case registered by the NIA at their Ahmedabad branch in Gujarat,” officials said.
The agency alleged that its investigation established that Faijan had conspired for the secession of Kashmir and Ladakh from India and had remained in contact with a Pakistan-based operative of the banned terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) as part of the conspiracy.
The NIA also alleged that the accused had planned targeted killings with the objective of creating communal tension and spreading “mayhem and disaffection against India”.
For this purpose, he was alleged to have illegally procured a firearm and six live cartridges from Uttar Pradesh without a valid licence. The weapon was subsequently seized during the investigation.
According to the agency, Faijan was acting on the directions of an online handler and had been radicalising vulnerable youths while offering incentives to encourage support for violent jihad and armed rebellion.
The NIA alleged that he used social media to disseminate extremist content and uploaded videos promoting violence through his Instagram account, identified as “al.Faijangaza”.
“Forensic examination of the accused’s digital devices led to the recovery of several incriminating videos and photographs, which formed part of the evidence relied upon in filing the chargesheet,” officials said.
The NIA said the investigation is continuing to identify other members of the alleged conspiracy, including the Pakistan-based handler said to have directed the accused’s activities.
The case forms part of a series of investigations by the NIA into alleged online radicalisation networks in Gujarat.
Earlier this year, the agency chargesheeted five accused in a separate case involving the dissemination of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) propaganda through social media, alleging that the group sought to radicalise vulnerable youths and encourage armed revolt against the Indian state.
The NIA had also taken over that investigation from the Gujarat ATS after digital evidence and weapons were recovered during the probe.
–IANS
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