A total of 20 people have been chargesheeted in this case so far

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a chargesheet against 17 hardcore operatives of the banned global terrorist network in a conspiracy involving the recruitment and radicalization of youth and the fabrication of improvised explosive devices in the Delhi-Padgha ISIS terror module case.

This brings the total number of accused chargesheeted in the case, which exposed global linkages with foreign handlers, to 20.

The NIA had originally chargesheeted three persons in March last year and filed its supplementary chargesheet before the special court at Patiala House here in the city on Monday against 17 others, of whom 15 are from Maharashtra and one each belongs to Uttarakhand and Haryana.

The accused, chargesheeted under various sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC), Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Arms Act and Explosive Substances Act, were found to have been engaged in a massive ISISI conspiracy involving recruitment, training and propagation of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) ideology among gullible youth, along with fabrication of explosives and IEDs and fund-raising for the banned outfit.

NIA, which has been cracking down on various ISIS modules active in the country with the intent to dismantle the nefarious terror network of the international organisation, had registered the case RC-29/2023/NIA/DLI in November 2023.

NIA's investigation had subsequently led to the seizure of several incriminating documents and data relating to manufacturing of explosives and fabrication of IEDs, along with propaganda magazines like 'Voice of Hind', 'Rumiyah', 'Khilafat', 'Dabiq', published by IS.

The agency had further found during investigations that the accused had been sharing digital files related to IED fabrication with their contacts. "They were also found to be actively raising funds to further their terror plans as part of ISIS agenda to spread violence in India and destroy its secular ethos and democratic systems," said the agency.

The accused had carried out several acts preparatory to unleashing of terrorist attacks, including recruitment of vulnerable youth into the organisation. They had taken 'Bayath' (pledge of allegiance) from an arrested accused Saquib Nachan, a habitual offender in many previous terror cases and a self-styled Amir-e-Hind for ISIS in India.

(With Inputs From Agencies)