Overview
- Md. Kamruj Zaman, also known as Dr Hurairah and Kamaruddin, was convicted on December 30 and given life imprisonment under Section 18 of the UAPA by the NIA Special Court in Guwahati.
- The court additionally ordered five-year simple imprisonment under Section 18B of the UAPA read with Section 120B IPC and Section 38 of the UAPA, with all sentences running concurrently and fines of Rs 5,000 on each count.
- The case, registered as RC-08/2018/NIA-GUW, involved a 2017–18 conspiracy to raise a Hizb-ul-Mujahideen module in Assam to carry out terrorist activities and spread fear among the public.
- NIA findings say Zaman recruited Sahnawaz Alom, Saidul Alam and Omar Faruk, with a chargesheet filed in March 2019; the three pleaded guilty earlier, while another accused, Jaynal Uddin, died during the trial.
- Zaman was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh ATS in Kanpur in September 2018, which officials say prevented an imminent attack and exposed the Assam-based module; he has been moved to Guwahati Central Jail to serve his sentence.