New Delhi: A special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Guwahati has convicted and sentenced a key accused to life imprisonment in a Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) terror conspiracy case linked to Assam, the agency said on Tuesday.
The accused, identified as Md Kamruj Zaman, was sentenced to life imprisonment along with additional concurrent jail terms and fines under the UA(P) Act.
"Accused Md. Kamruj Zaman @ Dr. Hurairah @ Kamaruddin has been awarded three separate SI punishments, with the maximum of life imprisonment," a statement from the agency read.
It further said that the court also sentenced him to five years’ simple imprisonment each under Section 18B of the UA(P) Act read with Section 120B of the IPC, and under Section 38 of the UA(P) Act. All the sentences will run concurrently.
"The sentences, which will run concurrently, include imprisonment for life under section 18, UA(P) Act, 1967, and five years Si each under section 18B, UA(P) Act, 1967 read with section 120B IPC, and section 38 of UA(P) Act," it added.
The court further imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 in each of the three counts, with an additional three months’ simple imprisonment in case of default.
According to the NIA, the case (RC-08/2018/NIA-GUW) pertains to a conspiracy hatched in 2017–18 to set up a module of the banned Hizb-ul-Mujahideen outfit in Assam.
“The conspiracy was aimed at striking terror in the minds of the people,” the agency said.
Investigations revealed that Kamruj Zaman had recruited several individuals, including Sahnawaz Alom, Saidul Alam and Omar Faruk, to further the terror plot. The NIA had chargesheeted five accused in the case in March 2019.
While Sahnawaz Alom, Saidul Alam and Omar Faruk were convicted earlier after pleading guilty, proceedings against another accused, Jaynal Uddin, abated following his death due to illness during the trial, the agency stated.