16 suspected IS operatives move court seeking speedy trial

New Delhi: Sixteen suspected ISIS operatives, arrested from across the country on charges of recruiting and financing people to join the terror outfit, on Tuesday moved a Delhi court seeking day-to-day trial.

District Judge Poonam A Bamba issued notice to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and sought response

by December 3, the next date of hearing. Advocate M S Khan, representing some of the accused, said that while the law mandates speedy trial of NIA cases, proceedings in the present case "are going slower than the speed of a snail".

The NIA had alleged that that the accused are members of banned outfit Islamic State (IS) or Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and in connivance with a few resident and non-resident Indians, have been indulging in identification, radicalisation, recruitment, training of people.

"The proceedings in the case are going at a very slow pace depriving the fundamental right of the accused to have a speedy trial.... It has been almost three years and not even charges have been framed," the counsel said in the application.

The NIA had filed its charge sheet before the court outlining the role of all the accused in a larger conspiracy of ISIS to further the terror group's ideology.

The final report had alleged that some Indian youths were transferred by the accused, who are currently in judicial

custody, to countries like

Syria, Lybia and Iraq for terror activities. mpost