New Delhi, April 22 : A total of seven persons, including mastermind and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) member T. Naseer, have been sentenced by a special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with the 2023 Bengaluru prison radicalisation case.

Apart from Naseer, the court sentenced Syed Suhail Khan, Mohammed Umar, Zahid Tabrez, Syed Mudassir Pasha, Mohammed Faisal Rabbani, and Salman Khan to seven years of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 48,000 each. The sentences were awarded under various provisions of the IPC, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Arms Act, and the Explosive Substances Act.

The accused had earlier pleaded guilty to the charges filed by the NIA in case RC-28/2023/NIA/DLI. The case pertains to a terror conspiracy allegedly hatched inside the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison in Bengaluru by Naseer. The conspiracy involved the identification, recruitment, training, conversion, and radicalisation of vulnerable youth lodged in the prison to carry out terror activities in India.

The case was initially registered by the Bengaluru Central Crime Branch (CCB) in July 2023 after the seizure of arms, ammunition, and digital devices from habitual offenders. Investigations revealed that the accused had planned to execute terror strikes in Bengaluru as part of the violent anti-India agenda of the banned LeT outfit.

Subsequently, the NIA took over the probe and uncovered a larger conspiracy aimed at facilitating Naseerâ??s escape while he was being transported from prison to court. At the time, Naseer was an undertrial in the 2008 Bengaluru serial blast cases.

Following a detailed investigation, the NIA chargesheeted 11 arrested accused and one absconder, identified as Junaid Ahmed. Among them, Salman Khan was extradited from Rwanda through coordinated efforts by Indian and Rwandan authorities. Efforts are ongoing to trace and arrest the absconder Junaid Ahmed.

Earlier on April 18, Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah had been arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with a 30-year-old case involving alleged attacks on police personnel.

/IANS