NIA court grants default bail to 2 of 12 accused in Vijayawada terror links case

Two of the 12 accused in the Vijayawada terror links case have been released on default bail, four days after a special court hearing for National Investigation Agency (NIA) cases in Visakhapatnam granted them bail, people familiar with the development said on Tuesday.

The investigation revealed that Pakistan-based handlers had planned a dedicated women’s wing, Khawateen, allegedly headed by Sayeeda Begum. (Representational)Defence advocate Abdus Saleem, who represents the accused, said Sayeeda Begum was released from the special women’s prison in Rajamahendravaram on Tuesday, while Shadman Dilkash was released from the same prison on Monday.

On March 24, the Andhra Pradesh police’s counter-intelligence cell arrested 12 people belonging to Al Malik Islamic Youth, who were suspected of having links to banned terrorist outfits such as al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), following a multi-state operation.

Sayeeda Begum is a Hyderabad-based domestic helper, while Shadman Dilkash hails from Patna in Bihar and is a National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) aspirant. Both were named as accused in the NIA chargesheet in the case.

According to Saleem, the NIA court granted default bail to the two accused on October 6 after the statutory investigation period of 180 days expired without the investigating agency filing charge sheets. The defence argued that the NIA filed charge sheets against other accused in the case but had not named the two for want of evidence, claiming that no material evidence existed to establish the alleged offences against them.

It argued that their continued detention was not legally sustainable once the prescribed investigation period elapsed. Those arrested in the case included Mohammed Rahantulla Sharif (A1), Mohammed Danish (A2) and Mirza Sohail Beg (A3), all from Vijayawada; Shadman Dilkash (A4) from Bihar; Sayeeda Begum (A5) from Hyderabad; Shaikh Fayaz Rehman (A6); Lucky Ahmed (A7) from Delhi; Azmanulla Khan (A8); Zeeshan (A9) from Rajasthan; Meer Asif Ali Bankura (A10) from West Bengal; Abdul Salam (A11) from Ballari in Karnataka; and Shah Rukh Khan (A12) from Pune.

The investigation revealed that Pakistan-based handlers had planned a dedicated women’s wing, Khawateen, allegedly headed by Sayeeda Begum, to train recruits in using sniper rifles, guns, black powder bombs and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to target non-Muslims and spread terror in India.

According to the police, the accused told investigators that although they had harboured extremist tendencies for some time, their radicalisation intensified only after they came into contact with a foreign handler identified as Al Hakeem Shukur on social media.

The case was initially registered by the II Town Police Station in Vijayawada under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Information Technology Act. The investigation was subsequently transferred to the National Investigation Agency.

Srinivasa Rao is Senior Assistant Editor based out of Hyderabad covering developments in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana . He has over three decades of reporting experience.