RANCHI: More than a year after being jailed under the stringent anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Jharkhand high court has granted bail to a Muslim cleric saying there is no evidence that he has links with Al Qaeda.
Maulana Kalimuddin Muzahiri was arrested in September 2019 for his alleged involvement with the terror outfit. He was accused of meeting two alleged co-conspirators at his house in Sakchi Madarsa in Ranchi and receiving money from persons in Gujarat for carrying out ‘anti-national work as a jihadi’,
In 2019, then additional director general of police M L Meena had said, “Kalimuddin is a most wanted terrorist of Al Qaeda. He has been arrested from Tatanagar railway station. He was preparing and motivating the youths for jihad in the Indian sub-continent.”
While arguing the case on Muzahiri’s behalf, his counsel A K Das said his client was a religious teacher and has never been involved in any criminal case. The case has been registered by the local police and not the National Investigating Agency, which is the authorised body to investigate terrorist activities, he said.
While granting bail to him through video conferencing on November 3, the court of Justice K P Deo said Muzahiri will not be allowed to leave Jamshedpur without permission of the lower court and he will have to inform the the Bistupur police about the people meeting him. The order was uploaded on the court’s website recently.