LUCKNOW: A special NIA court in Lucknow on Monday convicted two persons, Atif Muzaffar and Mohammed Faisal Khan, in a case related to killing of a retired school principal allegedly under the influence of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
The court charged the two guilty under the sections of IPC 302 (murder), 120 B (criminal conspiracy), along with sections of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. (UAPA). The court will pronounce the quantum of punishment in the case on September 11.
NIA said that on October 24, 2016, Ram Babu Shukla, who retired as principal of Swami Atmaprakash Brahmchari Junior High School in Kanpur, was killed while he was returning home on a bicycle. He was attacked by the accused near village Pyondi in Kanpur. The case was handed over to the NIA in November 2017.
The anti-terror agency had filed a chargesheet against the two accused on July 12, 2018 after investigations revealed that the accused had been radicalised by the ISIS ideology and were out to kill people whom they believed to be disbelievers. A third accused, Mohammad Saifulla, had died in Lucknow during the exchange of fire with the Anti-Terrorist Squad, March 7, 2017.
Investigations by NIA revealed that the accused were operating under the influence of ISIS, a banned terrorist organisation.
“They had murdered Ram Babu Shukla to strike terror and alarm in the minds of the common people,” NIA said.
