Mumbai: Observing that no innocent or peace-loving citizen would possess and spread radical literature, a special NIA court rejected the bail plea of a 29-year-old senior programmatic executive in a US-based company, accused of being a central figure in a conspiracy linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Seemab Kazi is alleged by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to have used his professional position as a cover to facilitate the procurement of materials for improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and to radicalise youth. While his lawyer argued the literature seized from his residence was common religious material, the judge found the content to be of a radical nature designed to spread extremist ideology. “If the... accused Seemab claims himself to be innocent and a peace-loving citizen, he should not have possessed and spread such hate literature, extremely radical in nature. Nature of that literature is not purely religious, as claimed by him and on his behalf,” special judge Chakor S Baviskar said. The judge further said the statements of witnesses revealed that radical ideology was being spread by the accused amongst gullible Muslim youths. “Many of the witnesses whose names are disclosed appear to be Muslims. Still, they attribute the specific role played by the accused in commission of the offence,” the judge noted. Seemab was arrested in July 2023 after his name was allegedly revealed by his two co-accused Mohammed Imran and Mohammed Unis, arrested earlier.The prosecution argued that Seemab was not merely an associate but a “main conspirator” who had taken an oath of loyalty, or ‘Bayth’, to the Khalifa on multiple occasions in Pune. The agency further argued that acting on instructions from co-accused Zulfikar Barodawala, Seemab purchased specific laboratory equipment, including thermometers, pipette pipes, and pipette bulbs, which were later used in the preparation of bombs. Investigators further alleged that Seemab utilised encrypted communication platforms like Signal and Threema through virtual private networks (VPNs) to maintain contact with other members of the module while concealing his identity. The judge expressed skepticism regarding the defence’s claim that the laboratory items were purchased for an online perfume business. The judge noted Seemab’s professional background as a high-level corporate executive made the repeated purchase of such specific equipment highly suspicious.“It is surprising that why the Senior Programmatic Executive purchased all such muddemal (material evidence) articles for multiple times, which are not at all even remotely concerned with the nature of his work.”The judge held that the stringent conditions for bail under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) had not been met. “After considering the material discussed up till now in totality, I am of the opinion that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accusation against the accused appears to be prima facie true.”
