Bengaluru Al-Hind ISIS case: NIA court jails Syed Fasiur Rehaman for seven years over communal-riot plot

New Delhi: A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Bengaluru has sentenced Syed Fasiur Rehaman, alias Syed Faseeh Ur Rehman, to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment for his role in the Al-Hind conspiracy linked to the terrorist organization ISIS. The court also imposed a ₹48,000 fine, making Rehaman the second person to be convicted in the six-year-old case.

The NIA court announced the verdict on Sunday, saying Rehaman had participated in meetings at which members of the alleged module planned targeted killings to provoke communal violence. Investigators said the broader objective was to establish an ISIS or Daesh wilayah – the Arabic term used by the organization for a territorial province.

According to the agency, Rehaman also bought tents and knives from a sporting-goods outlet for members who were preparing to undergo training in forested areas. The prosecution presented the purchases as part of the logistical preparations for the proposed jungle camps rather than as isolated acquisitions.

The NIA has alleged that the conspiracy was led by the prime accused, Mehaboob Pasha, who convened several meetings at his home in Bengaluru’s Gurappanapalya locality. Investigators say the participants discussed attacks intended to destabilize public order and advance the agenda of ISIS, which is a proscribed terrorist organization in India.

The investigation traces the origins of the Al-Hind network to meetings held in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu from April 2019, with Bengaluru allegedly serving as its principal base. The NIA’s original chargesheet alleged that Pasha and Khaja Moideen recruited susceptible young people, sought weapons and explosives, and communicated with an unidentified foreign ISIS handler through encrypted online channels.

The case was first registered by the Karnataka Police on January 10, 2020, before the NIA took it over and re-registered it on January 23, 2020. Three chargesheets have since been filed against 20 accused, all of whom were arrested during the investigation, while the trial began in October 2025.

Mohammed Haneef Khan became the first person convicted in the case on July 14 after pleading guilty to charges that included raising funds, recruiting members, organizing terrorist camps and procuring firearms. He was sentenced to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment and fined ₹48,000 after the court found that he had joined reconnaissance visits to the Shivanasamudra and Gundlupet areas to identify potential training sites and hideouts.

A supplementary chargesheet filed in 2021 also accused Shihabudeen of procuring and transporting weapons from Mumbai at Moideen’s direction, with the NIA linking those firearms to the killing of Tamil Nadu Police special sub-inspector Wilson. The agency said it was continuing efforts to identify and trace the online handler suspected of helping plan the module, indicating that the investigation’s international and digital dimensions remain unresolved.

While Rehaman and Haneef Khan have now been convicted, the allegations against the other accused must still be established independently through the judicial process. The latest judgment nevertheless marks further progress in a case that investigators describe as an attempt to translate online radicalization into an operational network spanning southern India.