BENGALURU: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday charge-sheeted The Rameshwaram Cafe blast co-accused Abdul Matheen Ahmed Taaha alias Taha, and Mussavir Hussain Shazib alias Shazib in the Shivamogga ISIS conspiracy case, taking the total charge-sheeted accused to 10 in the case.
The duo was charged under various sections of the former criminal code, the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in the third supplementary chargesheet filed by NIA before the special court in Bengaluru.
Taha and Shazib were earlier charge-sheeted by NIA in the Rameshwaram Cafe blast case, and for their involvement in Al-Hind ISIS module, Bengaluru. “Residents of Shivamogga district, the two men were engaged in radicalising and recruiting gullible Muslim youths, including the co-accused, in the ISIS conspiracy case,” NIA stated in an official release on Tuesday.
The case relates to the anti-India activities of the proscribed terrorist organization Islamic State (IS/ISIS). The Central counter-terrorism agency had taken over the case from Karnataka police in November 2022. “The accused were involved in violent activities like arson, trial explosions and burning of the Indian national flag, in addition to radicalization, recruitment, terror funding, as part of the IS conspiracy to spread terror and destabilise the nation,” the agency added.
Investigations in the case, originally filed in September 2022 by the state police, are ongoing.