New Delhi:

 The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday arrested a wanted accused involved in the trafficking of Bangladeshi nationals and Rohingyas into India through the northeastern borders.

Jalil Miah, a resident of Tripura, has been arrested by the NIA team, an official statement said.

The NIA had in February declared a cash reward of Rs 1 lakh for information leading to the arrest of Jalil, who was absconding in the case, in addition to nine others.

As per the NIA investigations, a large number of Bangladeshi nationals and Rohingyas are being trafficked to India every month through the porous stretches of the Indo-Bangladesh border.

They are further transported to different parts of the country provided fake documents and forced into labour, according to the statement issued by the probe agency.

“In yet another success in its fight against human traffickers operating across the country, the NIA on Tuesday arrested a key conspirator in a case relating to trafficking of Bangladeshi nationals and Rohingyas through the north-eastern borders,” it said.

Thirty-three persons were arrested earlier in the case, which the NIA had taken over from the Assam Special Task Force (STF) that had originally registered an FIR on March 22, 2023, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and Passport Act 1967.

The NIA has so far chargesheeted 24 accused.

Investigations have revealed that Jalil was one of the main conspirators in the human trafficking racket and a close associate of chargesheeted accused Jiban Rudra Pal alias Jibon alias Suman.

He was also closely associated with two other absconders, Juj Miah and Shanto, all hailing from Tripura, the NIA said.

Though Jalil had managed to escape during the initial operation on November 8, 2023, in which 29 accused were arrested, the NIA said, adding electronic devices and other incriminating documents seized from his residence had pointed to his complicity.

Pan India searches conducted by the NIA in November 2023 had led to the seizure of a whole lot of incriminating data, including digital devices, along with foreign currency (Bangladeshi Taka and US Dollar), Aadhaar cards, PAN cards etc.

A subsequent crackdown on December 29 last year had led to the arrest of another four accused in the case, exposing a massive network of human traffickers, the NIA said.

“The manhunt for tracking the other absconders is continuing and investigations are in progress to connect the missing links in the elaborate racket,” it said.

In a related development, the NIA had on Monday carried out a coordinated operation with the state police forces and central intelligence agencies across all the locations in connection with its probe in an international human trafficking and cyber fraud racket.

Five accused were arrested by the state police forces during these searches.

The youths were being forced to work in fake call centres at Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (SEZ), Laos and Cambodia, among other places, as part of the racket, controlled and operated mainly by foreign nationals.

They were also coerced into undertaking illegal activities online such as credit card fraud, investments in cryptocurrency using fake applications, honey trapping, etc. by the accused persons and their other members of the human trafficking syndicate.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a key member of the banned outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) in connection with the murder of Kerala-based Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Srinivasan in April last year, the agency said on Friday.

Shihab alias Babu had been on the run since the commission of the crime, the NIA said in a statement, adding its dedicated team successfully traced him to his residence in Kerala’s Malappuram district and subsequently detained him.

Srinivasan was killed in Palakkad on April 16, 2022.

“Investigations revealed that Shihab was an integral part of the terror ecosystem being operated by the Popular Front of India (PFI), which was responsible for orchestrating the murder of Srinivasan,” said the NIA.

It is believed that Shihab, acting in line with a conspiracy hatched by the PFI leaders, harboured Muhammed Hakeem, who, at the behest of PFI leadership, was responsible for the destruction of crucial evidence in the case, said the NIA.

On March 17 this year, the NIA filed a chargesheet against a total of 59 accused in the case. Subsequently, on May 16 this year, NIA’s Absconder Tracking Team achieved a significant milestone by tracking down and apprehending Saheer K V, who had been on the run for long.

So far, the NIA said, a total of 69 individuals have been identified as being involved in the conspiracy.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

A special NIA court here convicted an operative of banned global terror group ISIS and sentenced him to seven years in jail, an official said on Tuesday. Adnan Hassan, who was arrested on January 29, 2016, over his affiliation with ISIS, was convicted by the special court in Delhi on Monday, a spokesperson of the federal agency said.

He was handed over the jail sentence along with a fine of Rs 4,000 under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

The official said Hassan was found guilty in the case related to the ISIS Abu Dhabi module. The case pertains to the criminal conspiracy involving Indian nationals Sheikh Azhar Al Islam Sattar Sheikh, Mohammed Farhan Mohammed Rafiq Shaikh and Adnan Hassan.

“These individuals are members of the proscribed terrorist organization, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), along with other yet unidentified associates. Their conspiracy aimed at identifying, motivating, radicalizing, recruiting, and training susceptible youths for planning and execution of terrorist attacks,” the spokesperson said.

The NIA had registered a case on January 28, 2016, under relevant sections of IPC and UA(P)A as on the orders of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

“The investigation has revealed that Hassan used a variety of online platforms and methods, including posts, news articles, comments, videos, images, and the commentary of Islamic scholars, to motivate individuals to join ISIS. He also provided financial support to the accused Abdullah Basith and other associates,” the spokesperson said.

On the basis of evidence, a chargesheet was filed against Hassan in the special court on July 25, 2016. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Amit Shah suggests uniform anti-terrorism structure under NIA for all States 

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INDIA parties speak up for arrested AAP MP Sanjay Singh; Congress gives qualified support

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Reports say dozens have been killed and wounded as drone strikes hit a Syrian military ceremony

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EU Parliament decries ‘ethnic cleansing’ in Nagorno-Karabakh

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Chinese firm sold satellites for intelligence to Russia’s Wagner: contract

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Musk’s X strips headlines from news links

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Political stability, policy consistency needed to ensure Indian economy’s growth to world’s third-largest: FM

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SEBI to tell court Adani inquiry began 2014, but hit dead end: sources

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Asian Games | Indian compound archery teams’ domination complete

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New Delhi:

The Supreme Court on Friday asked the NIA to file its reply within four weeks to a plea by activist Gautam Navlakha, who is under house arrest at a Mumbai public library in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, seeking a change of address.

A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and J B Pardiwala was told by Navlakha’s lawyer that the Supreme Court had directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to file its reply in April but it has not submitted its response till date.

On November 10, 2022, the top court had allowed Navlakha, who was then lodged in Navi Mumbai’s Taloja prison, to be placed under house arrest owing to his deteriorating health.

Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the NIA, had opposed the order of house arrest.

While ordering his house arrest, the court had initially directed the activist to deposit Rs 2.4 lakh as expenses to be borne by the state for making available police personnel to effectively facilitate placing the petitioner under house arrest.

On the last date of the hearing, the top court had directed Navlakha to deposit another Rs 8 lakh as an expense for making available police personnel for his security.

The case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which police claim triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial on the outskirts of the city.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)