New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has refused bail to an alleged operative of “The Resistance Front” underlining his “influence” and a high possibility of tampering with the evidence.
A bench of Justices Subramonium Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar found sufficient material against accused Arsalan Feroze Ahenger, stated to be in his early 20s, saying “he posted photos of terrorists and incited people to commit terrorist acts”.
“It cannot be said that there is no evidence against the appellant (Ahenger) that he was closely associated with slain terrorist Mehran Yaseen Shalla or that he has actively participated in the terrorist activities himself,” the July 7 order said.
The court, as a result, dismissed his appeal against a trial court September 2024 order denying him bail in the case.
Ahenger was arrested on December 30, 2021.
The NIA alleged in the backdrop of abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, conspiracies were being hatched by various terrorist organisations like Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and TRF for targeted attacks on minorities, security forces, political leaders and other important persons.
Some of these conspiracies were allegedly planned and have also been executed to create unrest, instability and fear in the region of Kashmir and other parts of the country, it added.
Crucially, Ahenger was alleged to be associated with one Mehran Yaseen Shalla, who was linked to TRF/LeT.
Shalla along with two other persons was killed in an encounter on November 24, 2021, the NIA said.
Under Shalla’s influence, the agency said, Ahenger was digitally active on various social media platforms, on which radical content was shared.
He was alleged to have also created certain groups on social media like Ansar Gazwat-UI-Hind and Shaikoo Naikoo and created multiple gmail IDs though which radical views were expressed, thereby motivating and radicalising vulnerable youth to join terrorist groups like TRF.
For this purpose, he used social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram and Twitter, the NIA said.
Seeking bail, his counsel argued that the trial court failed to appreciate there was no material on record indicating his association with TRF and therefore UAPA was not attracted against him.
The NIA opposed the plea saying the material on record showed the active involvement of the accused in propagating radical information on social media, with the intent of compromising the safety and security of the nation.
The bench observed Ahenger abetted and incited the commission of terrorist act in the country which is punishable under Section 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
“The material on record also indicates that the messages that have been shared by the appellant have the tendency to incite people to join terrorist activities. The appellant has also used images, videos, etc., of slain Mehran Yaseen Shalla for glorifying the terrorist activities and the appellant has also been propagating radical ideology of TRF to create unrest within the country,” the court said.
Ahenger was also observed to have disseminated information for inciting local youths to participate in activities of terrorism sufficient to bring him in the ambit of Section 18 of UAPA, sufficient to reject his bail plea under law.
