The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday chargesheeted 17 hardcore agents of the proscribed global terrorist organisation ISIS for being part of a conspiracy involving radicalisation of youth and fabrication of improvised explosive devices, according to an official statement.
The NIA had originally chargesheeted three persons in March 2023 and filed its supplementary chargesheet before the special court at Patiala House in New Delhi on Monday against 17 others, of whom 15 are from Maharashtra and one each from Uttarakhand and Haryana, it said.
This takes the total number of accused chargesheeted in the case, which had exposed global linkages with foreign handlers, to 20, said the statement issued by the federal probe agency.
The accused, chargesheeted under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Arms Act and Explosive Substances Act, “were found to have been engaged in a massive ISIS conspiracy involving recruitment, training and propagation of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) ideology among gullible youth, along with fabrication of explosives and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and fund-raising for the banned outfit”, it said.