Ahmedabad: A sessions court in Gujarat’s Rajkot has sentenced three men from West Bengal to life imprisonment until death for conspiring with Al-Qaeda affiliates and attempting to wage war against the state. Additional Sessions Judge I.B. Pathan also imposed a fine of ₹10,000 each on the convicts in his 85-page order delivered on September 30.
The convicts — Abdul Shakur Ali Sheikh (20) and Shaknavaz Ek Shahid (23) of Bardhaman district, and Aman Siraj Malik (23) of Hooghly district — were arrested by the Ahmedabad Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) in July and August 2023. Acting on a tip-off, ATS officials discovered that the trio, working in Rajkot’s imitation jewellery market, were allegedly promoting Al-Qaeda ideology, radicalising local youth, and spreading propaganda through encrypted platforms such as Telegram.
According to the court order, the three planned to travel to Kashmir to join Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, an Al-Qaeda-linked group, to launch attacks on Indian Army and police personnel. The order noted that their broader conspiracy was to impose Sharia law in India and incite Muslim youths in Rajkot to take part in jihad.
Investigations revealed that the accused had procured a pistol and 10 live cartridges for ₹10,000 after their handler, identified as Muzzammil, sent them weapon photographs via WhatsApp. Police seized the firearm, cartridges, radical literature, and digital material linked to a Telegram group named Rah-e-Hidayat, which promoted extremist views and anti-government propaganda.
“The accused’s possession of illegal weapons and radical material clearly establishes their intent to wage war against the government and carry out anti-national activities,” the judge stated in the order.
The defence argued that Rah-e-Hidayat was not a terrorist organisation and produced witnesses who denied seeing the trio engage in extremist propaganda. However, the prosecution, led by government pleader S.K. Vora, countered with digital evidence and recovered weapons, stressing that the accused were in touch with a foreign handler and had confessed plans to attack on command.
While the prosecution initially pressed for the death penalty, the court sentenced the accused to life imprisonment until death under Section 121(A) of the Indian Penal Code, along with concurrent sentences under Sections 25(1-B)A and 27 of the Arms Act.
