The National Investigation Agency (NIA) special court here on Monday awarded eight years rigorous imprisonment to two Coimbatore natives — Mohammed Azarudeen H, the mastermind of the ISIS Tamil Nadu module, and Shiek Hidayathullah Y, in the Kerala-Tamil Nadu Islamic State (IS) recruitment case.
The NIA special court Judge, N Seshadrinathan, awarded the convicts rigorous imprisonment of eight year each on three counts. However, the punishment shall run concurrently.
Earlier on Saturday, the court found them guilty under provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) Sections 38 (membership of a terrorist organisation) and 39 (supporting a terrorist organisation).
The NIA had found that the accused were active members of the proscribed terrorist organisation ISIS from 2017 onwards and conspired to further its activities by forming a group/module, comprising themselves and three other accused persons.
They conducted several secret classes in Coimbatore to motivate associates with the violent extremist ideology of the organisation. They knowingly and intentionally propagated the ideology of ISIS in Tamil Nadu and Kerala from 2017 onwards through social media as well as in person, recruiting vulnerable youth into the organisation, thereby committing the said offences.
Investigations revealed that Azarudeen had been associated with Wahadath-e-Islami, a frontal organisation of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, and delivered speeches on the organisation’s religious ideology and other Islamic topics at various places, including Rayan Mosque in Coimbatore, from 2013 onwards.
He was in contact with several Sri Lankan individuals through Facebook and other encrypted social media platforms, where they exchanged violent jihadi ideology, including that espoused by ISIS.
Forensic examination recovered speeches and other materials of Sri Lankan ISIS leader Zahran Hashim from the digital devices and social media accounts of the two accused.
The NIA stated that both of them became radicalised by extreme Salafi Islamic ideology through online material.
They regularly watched speeches of radical preachers such as Anwar al-Awlaki, Abu Bara, Moosa Cerantonio, Zahran Hashim of Sri Lanka, among others. They downloaded such content to their devices, which they disseminated among associates.
The case was registered in 2019 after intelligence inputs revealed that Azharudeen and his associates were actively engaged in propagating ISIS ideology with the aim of recruiting vulnerable youth for carrying out terrorist activities in South India, especially in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.