Guwahati: A special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Guwahati has handed a life sentence to a man for setting up a module of a Pakistan-based terrorist group in Assam, officials said on December 31.
The NIA identified the convict as Md Kamruj Zaman, also known as Kamruddin.
He was found guilty under several anti-terror laws for creating a cell of the banned Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) in Assam during 2017–18.
The court issued three separate sentences, the longest being life imprisonment, which will be served at the same time.
Along with the prison term, Zaman was fined Rs 5,000 in each case, with an additional three months’ simple imprisonment if he fails to pay the fines.
According to the NIA, Zaman’s plan was aimed at spreading terror among civilians and disrupting peace in the region.
Investigations revealed that he had recruited individuals including Sahnewaz Alom, Saidul Alam, and Omar Faruk to support the group’s activities.
The agency had filed charges against five people, including Zaman, in March 2019. During the trial, three of the accused, Alom, Alam, and Faruk, were convicted after admitting their guilt.
The fifth accused, Jaynal Uddin, died due to illness while the case was still ongoing.
The NIA stated that the conviction is part of its efforts to address terrorist activities in the country.