New Delhi: A Special Court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Mumbai, sentenced five years imprisonment to three Bangladeshis for harbouring Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) terrorists from Bangladesh in Pune. The Special Court on Thursday pronounced the decision and sentenced all the accused to 5 years of imprisonment. The NIA issued a statement following the judgment passed by the court. In its statement, the NIA stated that the accused Mohammed Habibur Rehman Habib alias Raj Jesub Mandal, Hannan Anwar Hussain Khan alias Hannan Baburali Gazi, and Mohd Azarali Subhanallah alias Raja Jesub Mandal have been convicted and sentenced to 5 years in jail. The accused have also been penalised with Rs 2,000 each as fine, under relevant sections of the IPC and Foreigners Act.  According to the NIA, after the conviction of these three accused, a total of five accused have been convicted and sentenced in the case. Two other accused have been identified as Ripen Hussain alias Rubel and Mohmmad Hasan Ali Mohammad Amer Ali, who were convicted and sentenced to 5 years imprisonment each earlier in October 2023.As per the information, the case was registered originally by the Pune police in March 2018 based on inputs regarding several Bangladeshi nationals staying in Pune without valid documents, and abetting and aiding members of ABT, a proscribed terror outfit of Al-Qaida.

During the investigation, the Pune police intercepted Habib at Pune’s Dhobighat in Maharashtra and subsequently arrested a total of five Bangladeshi nationals in the case.The NIA, which took over the case in May 2018, found that the arrested Bangladeshi nationals had illegally infiltrated India. They had fraudulently obtained PAN cards, Aadhaar Cards, Voter IDs, Ration Cards and other documents, under fictitious names by providing fake documents.

The accused used these fake documents to procure Indian SIM cards, open bank accounts, and seek employment in India. The NIA investigations further revealed that the accused had harboured and funded several ABT cadres, including a key member, Samad Mia alias Tanvir.

Further investigations into the case are being conducted.