New Delhi, Jul 14 (PTI): A key accused in an ISIS-linked terror conspiracy to carry out targeted killings and trigger communal riots has been sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment by a special NIA court in Bengaluru, officials said on Tuesday. Mohammed Haneef Khan is the first accused to be convicted in the case, in which the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has so far chargesheeted 20 people, all of whom have been arrested. According to the NIA investigation, the conspiracy was masterminded by the prime accused, Mehaboob Pasha, who had conducted several meetings at his residence at Guruppanapalya.
During these meetings, a conspiracy was hatched to carry out targeted killings to trigger communal riots and promote the anti-India agenda of the proscribed ISIS terror outfit, the statement said.
The NIA also found that Pasha, along with his relatives and co-accused, had conspired to procure arms and explosives to further ISIS activities in the region.
Pasha had, in fact, provided Khan with two pistols and 60 live rounds to carry out violent activities, the NIA said.
Further, it was Khan who drove several accused from Bengaluru to West Bengal in a rented car as part of the conspiracy, it said.
The case was originally registered by the Karnataka Police on January 10, 2020, in Bengaluru and was taken over by the NIA a few days later.
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Saturday, July 25, 2026