A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Assam has convicted two more individuals in connection with the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) case, marking a crucial development in the ongoing crackdown against terror networks. With this verdict, the total number of convicted accused in the case has now reached nine. The court sentenced Mufti Suleiman Ali and Imran Hossen under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Both convicts received six months of simple imprisonment along with a fine of ₹500 under Section 120(B) of the IPC. In case of failure to pay the fine, an additional 14 days of imprisonment will be imposed. Additionally, they were sentenced to rigorous imprisonment (RI) for the period already served—two years, eight months, and 21 days—under Sections 20, 38, and 39 of UAPA.
The case was initially registered in March 2022, following the discovery of an ABT module operating in Assam’s Barpeta district. Investigations revealed that the module was linked to Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), with its operations being led by Bangladeshi national Saiful Islam. NIA’s probe led to the arrest of multiple individuals, culminating in a chargesheet filed against eight accused in August 2022, followed by a supplementary chargesheet in August 2023 against two more individuals.
Last week, two other accused in the same case were sentenced by the court. In a separate verdict on Wednesday, the court sentenced Mamunur Rashid to three years of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of ₹1,000. He was also given one month of simple imprisonment under Section 19 of UAPA and three months under Section 120(B) of IPC. Another accused, Mukibul Hussain, was sentenced to six months of simple imprisonment and a ₹500 fine, along with additional imprisonment under UAPA.
