NIA Court Convicts Two People In Retired Kanpur School Principal Murder Case
A National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Lucknow convicted two men for killing a retired school principal in “fulfilment and furtherance of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) agenda by spreading fear and terror among the people.”
The Special Court held Atif Muzaffar and Md Faisal Khan, both residents of Kanpur Nagar, guilty under section 302, section 34 and section 120B of the Indian Penal Code, sections 16(1)(a) and 18 of the UA(P) Act, and sections 3, 25 and 27 of the Arms Act. The quantum of the sentence will be pronounced on 11th September.
Ram Babu Shukla, the Kanpur-based retired Principal of Swami Atmaprakash Brahmchari Junior High School in Kanpur, was killed in October 2016 while he was returning home on a cycle. He was attacked by Muzaffar and Muzaffar near Pyondi village in Kanpur.
NIA had filed a chargesheet against the two accused in July 2018 after an elaborate probe revealed that the men 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 an exchange of fire with the UP Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) on March 7, 2017.
“Investigations by NIA revealed that the accused were operating under the influence of ISIS, a proscribed terrorist organisation. They had conspired to carry out terrorist activities (Jihad) in India by targeting non-Muslims through violent acts. In furtherance of their conspiracy to promote the ISIS ideology & agenda, they murdered Shukla to strike terror and alarm in the minds of the common people” the anti-terror agency said.
The case was initially registered by Uttar Pradesh and was later taken over by NIA in November 2017.
