Two active participants in a plot to incite terror and violence in India by an Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group operating out of Assam have been charged with additional offenses by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
The two accused, identified as Mohammed Akbar Ali alias Akbar Ali and Abul Kalam Azad, had conspired with the other accused to instigate and promote terrorist activities, as part of an active terror module of the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), which is affiliated with the proscribed terrorist organisation, Al-Qaeda in Indian Sub-Continent (AQIS).
They were engaged in strengthening the Al-Qaeda and ABT and grooming the youth to commit terror acts, mentioned the NIA in its investigations.
Both Akbar Ali and Abul Kalam Azad were detained on April 5 of this year, and the NIA, which had initially filed the chargesheet against eight other suspects in August last year, has now charged both of them with various offenses under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. According to the NIA, investigations have also shown that the two accused were complicit in organizing meetings to expand the activities of AQIS to different religious sites in Assam’s neighboring districts.