On June 3, Friday, the special court of NIA convicted Islamic State (ISIS) and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) terrorist Mohammed Mosiuddin alias Abu Musa and awarded him rigorous life imprisonment in the 2014 bomb blast that occurred in Khagragarh in West Bengal Burdwan district.
2014 Khagragarh blast case | NIA Special Court awards life imprisonment to convict Masiuddin alias Musa. He was arrested in 2017. #WestBengal
— ANI (@ANI) June 3, 2022
Notably, news agency ANI reported that the dreaded terrorist was arrested in 2017 but multiple reports suggest that he was arrested in July 2016 from the Biswa Bharati passenger train in connection with the 2014 Khagragarh bomb blast case. He was arrested for his link to terror groups like Islamic State and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh.
Who is Mohammed Mosiuddin alias Abu Musa
The NIA, which was probing the 2014 Burdwan bomb blast case, had said that Musa was planning lone-wolf attacks for the Islamic States and was also accused of radicalising the youth and pursuing them to join the terror organisation.
Musa, during interrogation, had allegedly admitted to having links with top ISIS leaders and the JMB through e-mails, social networking sites and mobile calls.
During a joint interrogation by the CID, NIA and IB, Musa had reportedly admitted to his connection to Amjad Sheikh, a key member of the JMB, arrested in 2014 in connection with the Khagragarh twin blast case.
He reportedly also came in contact with Shafi Armar, a former Mujahideen operative, who later was seen as the dominant recruiter for India. Abu Musa also met Abu Sulaiman, a former member of the Jamaat-Ul-Mujahideen and the alleged mastermind of the Dhaka attack.
According to a report by The Indian Express, a charge sheet filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the Bankshall court in Kolkata on December 23, 2016, said that Musa had also planned to attack the Mother House, headquarters of the Missionaries of Charity located in Mullick Bazar in Kolkata. According to the NIA, during interrogation, Musa had reportedly revealed his plans to attack the Mother House, which he claimed to be a ‘soft target’.
According to media reports, Musa was also ordered to behead a Hindu man, rape the man’s companion, film both attacks, and email the videos to his handler across the border in Bangladesh. Abu Sulaiman had reportedly assigned Musa the job and advised him to choose non-Muslim targets.
The video was supposed to be sent to ISIS in Syria and then released on the Internet by the terrorist group’s communications wing. Post the release, ISIS had planned to make a public declaration in India about the founding of the ‘caliphate.’ Before however, the plan could be executed, Musa was arrested from Burdwan railway station by Bengal Police on July 6 based on the inputs provided by Intelligence Bureau and NIA.
ISIS terrorist Abu Musa attacks Judge with a shoe during the hearing of the 2014 Burdwan blast case, had slashed the throat of a prison guard
Reportedly, Abu Musa has a history of aggressive behaviour and attacking people. In February 2020, Mohammed Mosiuddin alias Abu Musa attacked the Chief Judge, City Sessions Court in Kolkata. Musa hurled the shoes at the judge during his trial in connection with the 2014 Burdwan blast case.
According to the reports, the ISIS terrorist from West Bengal, Abu Musa got furious during the hearing and hurled his shoe toward the judge Prasenjit Biswas. However, the shoe missed the target and hit a lawyer who was present in the court.
In January 2020, he attacked the warden in the Presidency Jail. In December 2017, he slashed the throat of a prison guard in Alipore jail with an iron nail and then raised Jihadi slogans. Abu Musa had been lodged in the Presidency jail under the NIA custody for his alleged role in the 2014 Burdwan blast case.
2014 Burdwan blast case
On October 2, 2014, a powerful bomb exploded on the first floor of a rented property in West Bengal’s Burdwan district’s bustling Khagragarh neighbourhood.
The members of the JMB had made an improvised explosive device (IED) that had accidentally gone off during the fabrication process. Two terrorists had died as a result of their injuries. The West Bengal Police initially filed the case, which was later taken over by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on October 10, 2014. The NIA investigation revealed a plot by the JMB to radicalise, recruit, and train its members in weaponry and explosives in India in order to conduct terrorist acts and wage war against India’s and Bangladesh’s democratically elected governments.
IEDs, explosives, hand grenades, and training films were seized in huge numbers. The NIA has charged a total of 33 people in the investigation with various crimes. Thirty-one of the 33 accused were arrested. The NIA special court in Kolkata had already found 30 accused guilty and sentenced them to varied terms.
Last year, a special NIA court had also sentenced Kausar Ali alias Mohammad Jahid-Ul Islam alias Bomber Miyan, India head of Bangladesh-based terrorist organisation Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen (JMB) to 29 years in jail and imposed a fine of Rs 35,000 for his involvement in the 2014 Burdwan blast case. The court found Kausar guilty of violating sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Arms Act, and the Foreigners Act.
The NIA, in its charge sheet also said that the dreaded terrorist Kausar had links to the 2013 Bodh Gaya blasts. It is notable here that when Kausar alias Bomber Miyan was being interrogated in Bangladesh after his arrest, he revealed that JMB has close ties with the Rohingya terrorist group Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO) and JMB operatives have received training in firearms from RSO in exchange for lessons on explosives.
