7 IS men get death for 'plot to wage war against India'

LUCKNOW: A special NIA court Tuesday sentenced to death seven Islamic State (IS) operatives and handed another a life term for amassing weapons and making explosives as part of a conspiracy to "wage war against the country". At least three of the convicts in the Kanpur terror conspiracy case are suspected to have been also involved in the March 7, 2017, explosion on the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train that left 10 people wounded.
Judge VS Tripathi said the terror conspiracy fell in the category of rarest of rare crimes and, therefore, the convicts should get the severest punishment determined by law.
The seven against whom he pronounced the death penalty are Mohd Faisal, Gaus Mohd Khan, Mohd Azhar, Atiq Muzaffer, Mohd Danish, Mohd Sayyed Meer Hussain and Asif Iqbal, alias Rokey. Mohd Atif, alias Asif Irani, was given life imprisonment.
The FIR in the train blast case was registered at the ATS police station in Lucknow on March 8, 2017. The ATS had already been looking at suspected IS operatives planning to carry out blasts at different places in the country, special public prosecutors MK Singh and KK Sharma said.
Kanpur ATS first arrested Mohd Faisal on suspicion of his involvement in the terror plot. His co-conspirators were soon nabbed one after the other. The charge sheet filed in the case on August 31, 2017, also named terrorist Saifulla, who was killed in an encounter with the police on the day of the train attack.
Public prosecutor Sharma said that Faisal, Gaus Mohd, Mohd Azhar, Atiq Muzaffer, Mohd Danish, Mohd Sayyed and Rokey were charged under Section 121 (waging war against the state) of the IPC along with the UAPA, Arms Act and the Explosive Substances Act.
Mohammed Atif was charged under Section 121 (A) (conspiracy) of the IPC, besides the UAPA, Arms Act and the Explosive Substances Act. The convicts had tested some IEDs before unsuccessfully trying to plant them at various locations in the state. The probe also led to the discovery of several photos of the convicts making IEDs and posing even with weapons, ammunition and the IS flag, the NIA said.