NIA Court sends Chennai-based 'ethical hacker' to 7-year jail ISIS case

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court has sentenced Mohammad Naser, a BTech (IT) graduate and certified 'ethical hacker' from Chennai, to seven years' rigorous imprisonment besides slapping a fine of Rs 40,000 on him in connection with the ISIS conspiracy case. The court pronounced the judgement on Wednesday.

An NIA official said that Naser, who was working as web developer and graphic designer in Dubai, had in 2014 got radicalised and motivated to join the ISIS by some lectures delivered on YouTube by Islamic scholars namely Anjem Choudary and Abu Barra.

The official said that Naser was fully convinced that ISIS is following the true edicts of Islam and is struggling to create a caliphate, which will be governed on the basis of Sharia.

"Hence he had made frantic efforts to find persons who could facilitate his travel to Syria/Libya for joining the ISIS. On persistent efforts, he came across some online handlers and left Dubai to join the ISIS/ISIL in Libya via Sudan. But he was interdicted by the Sudanese authorities and was deported to India on December 10, 2015," the official said.

The NIA had registered a case in December 2015 pertaining to criminal conspiracy hatched by the ISIS to establish its base in India by recruiting Muslim youth for the proscribed terrorist organisation through different social media platforms.

According to NIA, a few known and other unknown Indian youth expressed their solidarity, allegiance and support to ISIS in different forms and left India or their place of residence for abroad and joined the ISIS under the influence of persistent indoctrination by its handlers.

"After completion of investigation, the NIA had filed chargesheets against 16 accused including Naser on June 3 this year. In this case, 15 accused persons have already been convicted to up to 10 years' imprisonment by the NIA special court on October 16 for the conspiracy hatched by ISIS handlers based in Syria and the subsequent formation of a group namely 'Junood-ul-Khilafa-fil-Hind' owing its allegiance to ISIS," the official said. The official added that the trial continues against chargesheeted accused Imran Khan. (IANS)

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