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NIA court awards life term to Hizbul man nabbed by UP ATS in 2018
Breakthrough by UP ATS in Kanpur in September 2018 foiled a fidayeen attack and unravelled a Hizb-ul-Mujahideen module planning strikes in UP and Assam
: A special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Guwahati has awarded life imprisonment to a key Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) operative who was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad from Kanpur in September 2018 in connection with a wider Assam-based terror conspiracy.
The NIA special court on Tuesday held Mohd Kamruj Zaman alias Dr Hurairah alias Kamaruddin guilty of conspiring to raise a Hizb-ul-Mujahideen module in Assam and planning terrorist activities aimed at spreading fear among the public. He was awarded three separate sentences, the maximum being life imprisonment under Section 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, NIA officials said in a press release issued on Wednesday.
The officials said the sentences will run concurrently and the court also imposed five years’ simple imprisonment each under Section 18B of the UAPA read with Section 120B of the IPC, and Section 38 of the UAPA, along with a fine of ₹5,000 in each count, with additional imprisonment in case of default.
The case traces its origins to September 14, 2018, when the UP ATS arrested Kamaruddin from a rented accommodation in Kanpur following specific intelligence inputs. Officials found that he was actively planning a fidayeen-style suicide attack on the Siddhivinayak temple in Kanpur, particularly during the Ganesh Chaturthi period, with the intent of causing mass casualties.
The arrest not only prevented an imminent terror strike in Uttar Pradesh but also blew the lid off a wider Hizb-ul-Mujahideen conspiracy operating out of Assam. During sustained interrogation, Kamaruddin revealed that he had been tasked by his handlers to build a sleeper module for the banned Pakistan-based outfit in Assam during 2017–18. His disclosures led to a series of arrests across Assam, exposing a network involved in recruitment, radicalisation, logistical support and reconnaissance of potential targets.
According to investigators, Kamaruddin had recruited Sahnawaz Alom, Saidul Alam, Omar Faruk and others as part of the conspiracy. The operatives were in touch with handlers based in Kashmir and were exploring ways to procure automatic weapons, including AK-47 rifles, to carry out attacks.
Security agencies also found that the module had conducted reconnaissance of Geeta Ashram in Assam’s Hojai district, considered a key Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) centre in the region, and Lumding railway station, a major rail division in the Northeast. The accused had allegedly chosen these locations for their strategic and symbolic importance.
Given the inter-state and national security implications of the conspiracy, the case was later taken over by the NIA and registered as a regular case with the NIA Guwahati unit. The investigation established that the conspiracy was hatched in the Jamunamukh area of Hojai district with the objective of expanding Hizb-ul-Mujahideen’s footprint beyond Jammu and Kashmir.
In March 2019, the NIA chargesheeted five accused in the case. During the trial, Sahnawaz Alom, Saidul Alam and Omar Faruk pleaded guilty and were convicted, while another accused, Jaynal Uddin, died due to illness during the pendency of the proceedings.
Senior officials described the conviction as a major outcome of intelligence-led policing and coordination between state and central agencies, underscoring the critical role played by the UP ATS.
“The Kanpur arrest was the turning point. It prevented a fidayeen attack in Uttar Pradesh and led to the exposure of a previously unknown Hizb-ul-Mujahideen module in Assam,” a senior official said.
