CHENNAI: The special court for trial of cases registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the city recently acquitted two men who were charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1961, for running terror modules and collecting funds, as well as recruiting potential fighters to join the ISIS in Syria.
In her recent order, S Malarvizhi, judge of the special court for NIA cases (sessions court for exclusive trial of bomb blast cases) in Poonamallee, directed acquittal of C Khaja Moideen alias Abdullah Muthalif of Cuddalore district and Ansar Meeran of Chennai.
The two were arrested under Sections 120 (B) r/w 125 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and under Section 18 of the UAPA for allegedly hatching a criminal conspiracy and planning to carry out terrorist activities.
Meeran, however, was found guilty of harbouring Haja Fakhrudeen – considered the first from India to join the ISIS in Syria – and was sentenced to four year of rigorous imprisonment for the offence under Section 19 of the UAPA. A fine of Rs 5,000 was also imposed on him. The jail term can be set off against the period of incarceration already undergone, the judge said.
The NIA had in 2017 registered the FIR against 10 people, including Moideen and Meeran, for running terror modules, recruiting some and facilitating their travel to Syria to join the ISIS during 2013-14, among others.
Charge sheets were filed against Fakhrudeen, Moideen, Meeran and Shahul Hameed in 2018. Judge Malarvizhi in her recent order said, “It is decided that the prosecution failed to establish that Khaja Moideen and Ansar Meeran had conspired to commit a terrorist act or were members of the banned terrorist organisation.”
She also noted that the case primarily rested on the evidence of the approvers which do not prove that these two had conspired to wage a war against any Asiatic power in alliance with the Government of India.