Kolkata’s NIA special court delivered justice on Wednesday, handing down a 10-year rigorous imprisonment sentence to Syed M Idris from Karnataka’s Uttara Kannada in a high-stakes Lashkar-e-Taiba recruitment conspiracy. The Pakistan-sponsored operation targeted Muslim youths in West Bengal, grooming them via online platforms for violent jihad against India.
Idris was convicted under stringent IPC and UAPA provisions, with sentences to run concurrently and a Rs 70,000 penalty. This development highlights the sophisticated tactics employed by cross-border terror groups to infiltrate and destabilize India.
The investigation kicked off when NIA assumed control in April 2020 from state police. Idris was arrested alongside J&K’s Altaf Ahmad Rather. Their partner-in-crime, Tania Parveen, had been detained a month prior by STF in a Baduria raid, yielding extremist propaganda materials.
Digital trails showed systematic radicalization efforts, funneling recruits to LeT’s Pakistan base. Chargesheets named the trio plus absconding Pakistani operatives Ayesha and Bilal, now hunted via Interpol notices.
As proceedings against co-accused progress, NIA’s proactive stance shines through. The agency continues to uproot such insidious networks, ensuring national security remains ironclad. This conviction reinforces that no mercy will be shown to those abetting terrorism.
