NIA court sentences ISIS conspiracy accused to 7 years in prison

A special NIA court in Bengaluru sentenced key accused Mohammed Haneef Khan to seven years' rigorous imprisonment in an ISIS-linked terror conspiracy involving planned targeted killings, communal violence and procurement of arms. He is the first accused convicted in the case

New Delhi: A key accused in an ISIS-linked terror conspiracy to carry out targeted killings and trigger communal riots has been sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment by a special NIA court in Bengaluru, officials said on Tuesday.

Mohammed Haneef Khan is the first accused to be convicted in the case, in which the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has so far chargesheeted 20 people, all of whom have been arrested.

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He was also fined Rs 48,000 in the case, a statement issued by the agency said. Khan, who pleaded guilty during the trial that began in October 2025, was found to be part of the recce team that had visited the Shivanasamudra area in Chamarajanagra district and the Gundlupet area in Karnataka to identify forest locations for training and establishing hideouts as part of the conspiracy.

According to the NIA investigation, the conspiracy was masterminded by the prime accused, Mehaboob Pasha, who had conducted several meetings at his residence at Guruppanapalya.

During these meetings, a conspiracy was hatched to carry out targeted killings to trigger communal riots and promote the anti-India agenda of the proscribed ISIS terror outfit, the statement said.

The NIA also found that Pasha, along with his relatives and co-accused, had conspired to procure arms and explosives to further ISIS activities in the region.

Pasha had, in fact, provided Khan with two pistols and 60 live rounds to carry out violent activities, the NIA said. Further, it was Khan who drove several accused from Bengaluru to West Bengal in a rented car as part of the conspiracy, it said.

The case was originally registered by the Karnataka Police on January 10, 2020, in Bengaluru and was taken over by the NIA a few days later. The NIA is also trying to track down the online handler who planned and conspired to set up the module involved in the conspiracy, the statement added.