BENGALURU: A special court for National Investigation Agency (NIA) rejected the bail applications filed by two men who were arrested for alleged IS-related activities with the intention to establish an Islamic caliphate in India.
Zabiulla, 25, of Suddaguntepalya and Sayed Fasiur Rehman, 38, of Tannery Road were arrested by NIA in 2020. Their contention was that no chargesheet was filed against them under section 15 of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, hence, charges levelled against them do not hold good.
Public prosecutor P Prasanna Kumar contended they had unsuccessfully applied for bail in the past. “Upon filing the chargesheet under sections of IPC, the accused had sought bail on different dates; Zabiulla’s bail was rejected on January 28, 2021 while Rehman’s was dismissed on November 27, 2020. They filed the present bail application seeking the very same relief without change in the circumstances. They have raised false averments stating this is the first bail petition,” Kumar pointed out.
Special judge Gangadhara CM noted there are no changed circumstances to consider their bail petitions. Zabiulla and Rehman were part of 22 suspects arrested in 2020 for allegedly aiding the terror outfit and targeting prominent Hindu leaders to start communal violence. Among them, 11 were from Bengaluru, two from Kolar and others from TN.
Some accused allegedly held several secret meetings from July 2019 to strengthen IS in Bengaluru and to wage a war against state functionaries through terror activities. A few reportedly contacted handlers in Pakistan and Syria through darkweb.
