Two Bangladeshis part of the ABT convicted by special NIA court

New Delhi, Sep 30: A special court of the National Investigation Agency has convicted two accused in the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) case. They have been sentenced to 7 years rigorous imprisonment after they pleaded guilty.

Shahdat Hussain and Umar Farooque, both residents of Bangladesh were also fined Rs 26,000 and Rs 33,000 respectively.

The case was initially registered by STF Kolkata in 2017 and pertains to arrest of five members of Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) in Kolkata. ABT is a proscribed terrorist organisation in Bangladesh. Four of the arrested ABT members were Bangladeshi nationals and one is an Indian national.

NIA took over the case in 2018. Investigation by NIA revealed that Bangladeshi members of ABT entered India in 2016 in pursuance of the conspiracy to commit terrorist acts in India. The accused persons travelled and stayed at Hyderabad, Pune and Mumbai in the guise of labourers.

Investigation also revealed that the accused persons tried to procure chemicals from a shop in Patna and tried to establish hide-outs in Ranchi. The accused persons also tried to procure arms and ammunition in Kolkata.

Several incriminating materials like map of Sealdah Railway Station, Howrah Bridge, literature on explosives and bomb-making, fake Aadhaar Card, fake PAN Card were seized from their possession.