NIA Special Court Convicts Two More Suspects in Lucknow Al-Qaeda Terror Conspiracy Case

A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court has convicted two additional suspects in the Lucknow Al-Qaeda terror conspiracy case, the agency announced Saturday.

According to an official NIA press statement, Mohd. Mustaqueem and Shakeel, both Lucknow residents, were found guilty by the court under section 25 (1B)(a) of the Arms Act, in conjunction with section 120B of the Indian Penal Code.

The Special Court in Lucknow sentenced the two individuals to 20 months imprisonment. Additionally, each has been ordered to pay a fine of Rs. 5000.

This conviction follows the earlier verdict on October 30, 2025, when the same court convicted Mohammad Moid of Lucknow in this case, which involved the arrest of two members belonging to the banned terrorist organization Al-Qaeda.

The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) had initially arrested Al-Qaeda member Umar Halmandi on July 11, 2021, in Lucknow for his involvement in radicalizing and recruiting members for AQIS (Al-Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent).

According to the NIA statement, the arrest was conducted based on intelligence that Halmandi was actively engaged in radicalizing and recruiting individuals for AQIS operations in Lucknow.

Investigators discovered that Umar, operating from the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region, had established a presence in Lucknow with the intention of preparing young recruits to execute terrorist attacks in various Uttar Pradesh cities prior to Independence Day celebrations in 2021.

The investigation revealed his plan to coordinate terrorist activities across multiple cities in Uttar Pradesh before the nation's Independence Day celebrations that year.

Following the comprehensive investigation, the NIA filed one main chargesheet and one supplementary chargesheet against a total of six arrested individuals in connection with this case.