NIA court accepts guilty plea of two men accused of ISIS links; convicts them on terror charges

A special court here accepted a plea made by two men admitting their guilt for joining the terror outfit ISIS in 2015 and convicted them on charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Special NIA judge A T Wankhede on Wednesday said he would hear the accused on the quantum of punishment on January 7.

Mohsin Sayyed (32) and Rizwan Ahmed (25) had approached the special court last month seeking to plead guilty in the case.

On Wednesday, the court explained to the accused the charges they face and the punishment that can be imposed on them if convicted.

Under the UAPA and provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the duo can face a minimum sentence of three years and a maximum of life imprisonment.

The accused informed the court that they were aware of this and were voluntarily seeking to plead guilty. The court then accepted their pleas and convicted them under the relevant sections of the UAPA and IPC.

According to the prosecution, four men had allegedly left their homes in suburban Malvani in Mumbai to join the ISIS. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) claimed that Sayyed and Ahmed had instigated, intimidated and influenced vulnerable Muslim men from Malvani and compelled them to join the terror outfit and become ‘Fidayeen’ fighters.

In their application filed last month, the duo, who had been in jail since 2016, claimed that they had themselves been influenced by propaganda videos and had now realised their mistake and were remorseful.