Two terrorists with links to ISIS have been sentenced to life imprisonment ‘till last breath’ by the sessions court at Ankleshwar in Gujarat’s Bharuch district, after their arrest in 2017 for their involvement in planning ‘lone-wolf’ attacks and recruiting individuals for terrorist activities.
Additional sessions judge VJ Kalotra imposed the sentence on the two convicts – identified as Ubed Ahmed Mirza and Mohammad Kasim Stimberwala, according to Bharuch district government pleader Paresh Pandya.
Both Mirza and Stimberwala were apprehended by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in October 2017. They faced charges under Indian Penal Code sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 121-A (sedition) and 125 (waging war against any Asiatic power in alliance with India), as well as sections 17, 18, 19, and 38 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
The ATS, in its chargesheet, said that the two accused were ‘highly radicalised by the Jehadi ideology of Islamic State and were actively planning lone-wolf attacks on Jews’.
“Apart from terror activities, the convicts were working to radicalise and recruit youth for terror activities. Police found they had recruited four minors as well,” Bharuch said.
“They had even recruited four minors for the purpose who were arrested from Kolkata and later turned prosecution witnesses,” the government pleader added.
The court took into account a wide range of evidence, including 75 witness testimonies, pen drives, mobile phones, laptops, digital data, and surveillance information, to establish the pair’s involvement in planning terrorist activities before attempting to flee to Syria.
Stimberwala worked as a hospital technician in Ankleshwar, while Mirza was employed as a lawyer at the Surat court. The ATS had been monitoring their activities since 2014.
The convicted individuals had conducted reconnaissance of several important locations, including a synagogue in Ahmedabad. They also visited multiple places, including Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and West Bengal, with the intention of acquiring weapons and recruiting radicalised youths for ISIS. Their plan was to send these recruits abroad for engaging in terror activities. The investigation revealed that their intention was to escape to Syria following the execution of their planned acts of terror.
The chargesheet also pointed to Abdullah el-Faisal, a radical preacher from Jamaica, and suspected ISIS handler Shafi Armar as absconding accused in the case.
Furthermore, an unidentified associate of one of the convicts was found to have discussed assassinating Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a WhatsApp conversation. The chargesheet cited a chat between Mirza and the unknown associate, referred to as ‘Ferrari’, in which a suggestion was made to use a sniper rifle for the purpose.
In the WhatsApp chat dated September 10, 2016, Mirza discussed the acquisition of pistols. In response, ‘Ferrari’ said, “Yeah, let’s take [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi out with a sniper rifle Insha-Allah,” as per the chargesheet.
The chargesheet also highlighted that Stimberwala had submitted his resignation from the hospital in Bharuch where he worked as a lab technician. Stimberwala had taken ‘leave while still employed with the hospital to conduct a recce of the synagogue in Ahmedabad for the attack’ at Mirza’s directions, according to the chargesheet.
Alleged Facebook conversations between el-Faisal and the two convicts were also attached to the chargesheet.
Copyright © 2025 Top Indian News
