New Delhi: Last week a Mumbai court Sentenced Life imprisonment to a 32-year-old man on charges of cyber terrorism under the Information Technology Act, 2000 for hatching a conspiracy to attack the American School of Bombay in the city’s Bandra Kurla Complex area. This is the first conviction of cyber terrorism in Maharashtra,
Additional Sessions Judge Dr AA Joglekar delivered the judgment on 21 October.
According to the judgment, the state’s special public prosecutor, advocate Madhukar Dalvi, had alleged that Anees Shakeel Ahmed Ansari was conspiring to carry out a “lone wolf bomb attack” at an American school in BKC, Mumbai, with the intention of killing the children. of foreign nationals and thereby creating terror”.
Ansari was arrested in October 2014 by the state’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).
The prosecution had alleged that Ansari had hatched his plan by unauthorized access to computers and internet of a private company working to “threate the unity, integrity, security and sovereignty of India”. It was also alleged that Ansari was inciting others to “involve in spreading terrorist activities promoted by ISIS”.
As evidence, the prosecution had submitted a Facebook chat of his fake account named ‘Usarim Logan’. The verdict said there were also pictures of a “timeline profile”, “the Statue of Liberty viewed horizontally”, text related to Baghdad and ISIS, and a “diagram” of a bomb.
Finding him guilty of cyber terrorism, the court convicted him under section 115 (punishment to death or life imprisonment, if the offense is not committed) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), read with 120B (criminal conspiracy). and sections 43(a) (compensation for failure to protect data) and 66f (cyber terrorism) of the IT Act.
Section 66F defines cyber terrorism as “with the intent to endanger the unity, integrity, security or sovereignty of India or to spread terror amongst the people or any class of people” without authorization or with more than authorized access to a computer resource. Access is included.
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‘Lone Wolf Bomb Attack’
According to the prosecution, the Nagpada ATS unit received information from an informer on October 18, 2014 that Ansari, who was working as an associate geographic technician, was a “jihadi” and had planned to attack the American school in BKC. There was a conspiracy. After this Ansari was arrested.
During his employment with M/s. Here Solutions India Pvt. Ltd., Seepz, Andheri, Mumbai, the prosecution alleged that he used the company’s computer and internet to create a Facebook account under a fictitious name. He then allegedly downloaded and posted objectionable material and interacted with people about the ideology of ISIS. Prosecutors also relied on his Facebook chat with Omar Elhaj, which, they said, showed Ansari’s intentions and preparations to attack the American school.
It was alleged that Ansari had obtained information about making thermite bombs and shared this information with Elhaj, “a lone wolf carrying out a bomb attack on an American school in BKC, Mumbai with the intention of killing the child.” to further the conspiracy of foreign nationals and with malicious intent to create terror and to threaten the unity, integrity, security or sovereignty of India”.
The court said that Ansari’s job profile did not require access to such information, and he was warned against accessing social media sites, and therefore, he had “exceeded such authorized access” provided by his employer. took”.
“The evidence given by the prosecution in the given case conclusively demonstrates that the accused willfully and willfully with intent to endanger the unity, integrity, security or sovereignty of committing an attack of terror to India or to the people or any class of people by exceeding such authorized access and by such conduct to gain access to such information, which may be used to … the sovereignty and integrity of India intended to injure or cause harm to the interest of …,” it concluded.
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Attendance sheet, Surfing Islamic websites
Among other things, the prosecution produced Ansari’s attendance time sheet and a warning letter issued to him by the company, and had examined four of his associates as witnesses. According to the verdict, one of his associates told the court that Ansari was found using Facebook during working hours, and the aide also observed Ansari “opening certain Islamic sites and downloading certain content”. .
Ansari, in his defense, had said that the prosecution has failed to prove how he used the company’s internet services to spread terror activities promoted by ISIS. His lawyer also argued that the prosecution did not prove that he himself had created the fake account, and that there was nothing to show that he was actually planning the attack or was planning any such. However, the court rejected all such arguments and found him guilty.
Ansari’s lawyer then sought minimum punishment for him, arguing that he was arrested at a young age and was the only earning member in his family. Dalvi, on the other hand, had sought maximum punishment of life imprisonment for Ansari, saying that he is highly deserving, and if released, he is likely to commit acts of cyber terrorism.
The court decided to sentence him to life imprisonment, saying he did not deserve “liberal and liberal consideration”.
(Edited by Anumeha Saxena)
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