Lucknow man convicted for aiding Al-Qaeda terror conspiracy, sentenced by NIA court

Lucknow: A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Lucknow on Thursday convicted and sentenced Mohammad Moid for his role in a terror conspiracy linked to the banned outfit Al-Qaeda.

According to an official NIA statement, the court sentenced Moid to the period already spent in custody – one year, nine months and 13 days – and imposed a fine of Rs 5,000. The verdict was delivered after Moid pleaded guilty to his involvement in the case.

The case stems from the July 2021 arrests of two Al-Qaeda operatives by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), based on intelligence inputs from Umar Halmandi, a key Al-Qaeda member. Halmandi had reportedly identified and recruited several individuals in Lucknow to form an Al-Qaeda module in India under the banner of Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGH).

Investigations revealed that the group was planning to carry out terror attacks in Uttar Pradesh cities, including Lucknow, before August 15, 2021.

The NIA took over the investigation from the ATS and filed a chargesheet against five accused on January 5, 2022, followed by a supplementary chargesheet against one more in August 2022.

As per the NIA findings, Moid, along with Shakeel and Mohammad Mustaqeem, had assisted other accused Minhaj and Museeruddin in acquiring weapons and ammunition to advance AGH’s terror plans.

The agency stated that Minhaj, radicalised by Tawheed and Adil Nabi alias Musa, had conspired with Museeruddin, who even took a “baiyat” (pledge of loyalty) to the terror outfit. Together, they procured arms, ammunition and explosives with the intent to wage war against the Indian government.

The trial of the remaining five accused in the case is still underway.

(with inputs from agencies)