In 2019, during a chilly winter in Delhi, Jahanjeb Sami and his wife, Hina Bashir Baig, relocated from Jammu and Kashmir to Delhi. They had married on Oct 6, amidst a lockdown in Srinagar following the abrogation of Article 370, and moved to Delhi two weeks later. Sami, with BTech and MBA degrees, worked for a UK-based firm, while Baig, after completing her MBA post a bachelor’s in computer applications, took a break from her banking job for the wedding.
Renting a flat in Jamia Nagar’s C Block, the couple initially enjoyed weekends watching movies or visiting the bird sanctuary in Okhla. However, their outings were curtailed by the Anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests. The following year, the COVID-19 pandemic further restricted their activities, leading them to spend most of their time indoors, surfing the internet.
Their quiet life was disrupted on March 8, 2020, when the Delhi Police’s anti-terror unit arrested them under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. They were accused of being different personalities online, with Baig known as Hannabee and Katijah al Kashmiri, and Sami as Xaib, Abu Abdullah, and Abu Muhammad-al-Hind. The police alleged they were Islamic State (IS) members, acting on instructions from handlers in Syria and Afghanistan. The case was later transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), and after a period on remand, the couple was sent to jail in judicial custody.
Four years later, a court found them guilty. Sami was sentenced to three to 20 years for attempting to establish a caliphate and plotting 100 blasts in a single day in the city, while Baig received two sentences of seven years each. The investigation revealed they were under surveillance for months before their arrest.
In 2019, intelligence agencies intercepted communications from an account in the name of Hannabee, leading them to the couple. They were in contact with IS entities, including Abu Usman al Kashmiri, and were involved in preparing a digital magazine, Sawt-al-Hind (Voice of India), under the influence of IS commander Huzaifa al Bakistai. The couple also radicalized individuals, including a Pune-based couple, convincing the woman to wear a suicide belt for an upcoming mission.
Despite their efforts to cover their tracks, the couple’s online activities were eventually infiltrated by investigators, revealing their active radicalization efforts across India.