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Hizbul man gets life term for conspiracy to target temples, RSS campus
The convict, Qamar-uz-Zama, a resident of Hojai in Assam, was arrested from Kanpur on September 13, 2018, which led to eight more arrests from different parts of Assam
LUCKNOW A Lucknow court on Tuesday sentenced a Hizbul Mujahideen operative to life in prison for conspiracy to execute blasts at Kanpur’s Siddhi Vinayak temple in UP and RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) office in Hojai district of Assam, said National Investigation Agency (NIA) officials.
The convict, Qamar-uz-Zama, a resident of Hojai, was arrested from Kanpur on September 13, 2018, which led to eight more arrests from different parts of Assam. The investigation revealed that the Assam terror module also did a recce of Hojai’s Lumding town that is significant due to the Geeta Ashram and the major railway division of North-East, they said sharing details with the media.
The accused was awarded rigorous and life imprisonment in the Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) terror conspiracy case, said an NIA official.
The case was re-registered by the NIA after taking over investigation from the UP ATS in September 2018 and five accused were charge-sheeted in the case. These included one absconding accused, Osama Bin Javed, who was later killed in an encounter with security forces in September 2019 and a Lumding-based arms dealer Abhimanyu Chauhan, also arrested in the terror conspiracy case. Chauhan was trying to arrange weapons from somewhere in Dimapur, Nagaland, and was in regular touch with one Riyaz-uddin alias Riyaz, who was earlier arrested by the Assam police, he added.
The official said the NIA Special Court sentenced Qamar-uz-Zama to life imprisonment under Section 121A of the IPC for waging war against Government of India and life Imprisonment under Section 18 of the UA(P) Act (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act). A fine of ₹10,000 each was imposed on him under both sections. The court sentenced him to 10 years’ RI under Section 120B of the IPC for criminal conspiracy, under Section 17 of UA(P) Act and other sections and imposed a fine of ₹10,000 each under three charges. The accused will be liable for a further three months of imprisonment in case of default of fine in each case. All the sentences will run concurrently.
He said the NIA investigation established that Qamar-uz-Zama, along with co-accused, had hatched a criminal conspiracy for waging war against the Government of India, and conspired to carry out preparatory acts with a view to targeting various Hindu temples and places. He was also involved in raising funds, knowing that the money would be used by HuM operatives for terrorist acts.
It was also found during probe that the accused was radicalised by Osama Bin Javed to join the proscribed terrorist organization HuM. Both were recruited to HM by two active militants, namely Mohammad Amin, a district commander of HuM, and Riyaz Ahmad alias Hazari, a district deputy commander of HuM, both residents of Kishtwar in J&K. The two militants were also involved in the physical and weapons handling training of Qamar-uz-Zama and Osama Bin Javed in the jungles of Kishtwar, following which Zama was instructed to set up bases, hideouts and select targets in UP, Assam and other parts of India for carrying out terrorist activities. Accordingly, Qamar-uz-Zama had come to Kanpur (UP), where he had also carried out reconnaissance of a few targets.
