Two sentenced to life imprisonment in Pune Ansarullah Bangla Team case

According to the NIA officials, Maharashtra Police had initially registered a case on March 16, 2018, on inputs that several Bangladeshi nationals were staying in Pune without valid documents

New Delhi: The NIA Special Court in Mumbai on Monday sentenced two persons to five years imprisonment in the Pune Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) case for harbouring terrorists.

According to the NIA officials, Maharashtra Police had initially registered a case on March 16, 2018, on inputs that several Bangladeshi nationals were staying in Pune without valid documents. They were involved in abetting and aiding members of the ABT, a front organisation of the Al Qaeda.

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Acting upon the information, police intercepted Mohamed Habibur Rehman Habib a.k.a Raj Jesub Mondal at Pune, Maharashtra and subsequently arrested five Bangladeshi nationals. The NIA had taken over the investigations of the case as of May 18, 2018, said the official.

The NIA probe had revealed that the arrested Bangladeshi nationals had illegally infiltrated into India. They had fraudulently obtained PAN cards, Aadhaar cards, voter IDs, and ration cards under fictitious names by providing fake documents and intentionally used the said Aadhaar and PAN cards for procuring Indian SIM cards, opening bank accounts, and seeking employment in India, said the NIA official.

Furthermore, they had harboured Samad Mia a.k.a Tanvir a.k.a Saiful a.k.a Tushar Biswas and other ABT members at a construction site in Pune. They also gave money to Tushar Biswas, a member of ABT and other members, said the official.

The NIA had filed charge sheets against all the arrested accused on September 7, 2018. On Monday, two accused persons namely, Ripen Hussain and Mohmmad Hasan Ali were convicted by NIA Special Court under relevant sections of the IPC and Foreigners Act. The court sentenced them to imprisonment of five years and a fine of Rs 2,000 each, said the official.

The trial against the remaining three accused is ongoing, the official added.