Kerala: Mohammed Polakkani (27), arrested in connection with the secret Islamic State (IS) meeting held in Kanakamala, Kannur District, has been sentenced to 38 years imprisonment by the Special NIA Court, Kochi on January 10. The case was initiated close on the heels of the arrest of 6 terrorists by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in October 2016 in Kanakamala. Polakkani has been sentenced under various sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
Kanakamala Case pertaining to the conspiracy of Ansar-ul-Khilafa, to carry out terror activities in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Plots were to demolish worship centres and attack high court judges, political leaders and top police officers. NIA had found that Polakkani had flown to Georgia to go to Syria to join IS. Georgian authorities caught hold of him while trying to cross the border from Georgia to Syria in 2016. He was jailed there for years and, at last, deported to Bharat in September 2020.
NIA has alleged that Polakkani had tried to spread the IS doctrines among the students and others while studying in Coimbatore. He was involved in the Telegram groups called The Gate, Bab-al-Noor, Playground, Dar-ul-Fikr, etc., which were launched to spread IS thoughts and hatch plots for terrorist activities. Initially, he was known as Harper Parker and then renamed Islam Nik Bisr as he became a Telegram group member.
Court had earlier sentenced Manseed, Swalih, Rashid, Safvan, Ramshad and Moinudheen, who were members of Ansar-ul-Khilafa Kerala; they were arrested in the Kanakamala raid of NIA.
Recently Polakkani approached the court and admitted the guilt. Therefore, he was sentenced sans trial, as per IPC Section 120 B, UAPA Section 18, 18 B and 20.
During the trial of the Kanakamala case, Kozhikode Mangalasserry Shajeer was killed in Afghanistan. A few months before, NIA Court had sentenced Siddique Ashar, an accused in the Kanakamala IS Module Case, to 3 years imprisonment. He was arrested at Delhi airport when he was deported from Saudi Arabia with the help of Interpol.
Kanakamala’s arrest in 2016 was the busting of a secret band of Ansar-ul-Khilafa Kerala, which allegedly had links with IS. The accused were found to be guilty of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), including offences relating to membership in a terrorist outfit. In 2019, the Special NIA Court found the six arrested guilty. A prime accused, Mansidh Muhammed, was sentenced to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment, while another accused, Salih Muhammed, was for ten years, again under the Sections of UAPA. The remaining accused, Rashid, Ramshad and NK Safwan will have to undergo jail terms for seven, three and eight years of imprisonment, respectively. Moinudheen Parakkadavath, another bloke, will spend three years behind bars.
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