ISIS recruit Areeb Majeed denied bail

A special Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) court on Thursday rejected the bail plea of Areeb Majeed, a Kalyan resident who was accused of travelling to

A special Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) court on Thursday rejected the bail plea of Areeb Majeed, a Kalyan resident who was accused of travelling to Syria and joining the banned terrorist organisation Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

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According to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Majeed left for Syria in May 2014 and allegedly participated in a criminal conspiracy to commit terror acts in Iraq and Syria. On his return to India in November 2014, he was arrested as soon as he landed at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and handed over to the NIA.

However, Majeed has argued that the agency does not have the power to investigate cases that took place outside Indian territory in 2014. This power was given to the NIA only after an amendment this year, he said. “The delegation of the power to NIA to investigate the scheduled offences beyond India was granted only in 2019, which shows [that] prior to 2019, the NIA was not vested with the powers to either register [an] FIR or investigate or prosecute a person for offences committed outside India,” reads his bail plea.

The plea was opposed by the prosecution claiming that he has returned to India with ulterior motives. The NIA further contended that issue of jurisdiction and power can be dealt at the final stage of arguments.

Majeed, who is fighting his case himself, is the sole youth to have returned to India after having allegedly joined the banned organisation.