Third conviction in Shivamogga ISIS case: NIA sentences key recruiter to 6 years’ rigorous imprisonment

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By: Express News Service5 min readBengaluruUpdated: Apr 22, 2026 11:15 AM IST The Shivamogga ISIS terror module was accidentally unearthed by the police and security agencies in 2022 after a stabbing incident that occurred in the city of Shivamogga on Independence Day, (Express photo) Make us preferred source on Google Whatsapp twitter Facebook Reddit PRINT A National Investigation Agency (NIA) special court in Bengaluru on Tuesday convicted and sentenced the third accused to imprisonment in the 2022 Shivamogga ISIS Terror Conspiracy case after he pleaded guilty. Accused Arafath Ali, 26, has been sentenced to six years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) on four charges of terrorism, apart from Indian Penal Code (IPC) charges of criminal conspiracy. Ali, a native of Shivamogga district who was deported from Kenya in 2023, was also sentenced for offences under Sections 18, 38, and 40 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), 1967. Ali, who has been in prison since 2023, will serve an additional term of three years after the conviction. Last November, the court had similarly sentenced two other accused – Mohammed Zabiulla and Nadeem Faizal – to six years of RI in the case, while the trial against the remaining nine accused, who have not pleaded guilty, is continuing. The Shivamogga module, which had members hailing mostly from the Thirthahalli region, was involved in terrorism attempts in Karnataka in the 2020-25 period. “The offender / Accused No.10 is sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of six (06) years and is liable to pay a fine of Rs.5,000/- for the offence punishable under Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. In default of payment of the fine, he shall undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of one month,” the special court said. The sentences will run concurrently, and “the period of detention undergone by the offender / Accused No.10 in judicial custody shall be set off against the term of imprisonment imposed, as provided under Section 428 of the CrPC,” the court said. Ali had fled the country in January 2020 to evade arrest, fearing apprehension in connection with a separate terror module when he was accused of indulging in ISIS propaganda activities and planning terrorist acts. He was deported after his involvement in terrorist activities through the Shivamogga module was unearthed by the state police and the NIA. NIA arrested him on his arrival at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, in September 2023. According to NIA, Ali was an active member of the Islamic State (ISIS) and was involved in the criminal conspiracy to propagate the violent terrorist ideology of the banned terror organisation on Indian soil. He was engaged in radicalisation and recruitment of vulnerable youth into the Shivamogga ISIS terror module, NIA investigations had revealed. Arafath Ali is also a co-accused in a case of painting provocative graffiti in Mangaluru in December 2020 which is still under trial. NIA said, “It was further found during investigation that the accused had been involved in instigating and motivating other accused to inscribe inflammatory graffiti in Mangaluru City in support of ISIS and other terror organisations, including the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). The conspiracy was aimed at inciting enmity and disharmony among people of different religions and spreading violent unrest in society. ” Funding channel for Shivamogga terror module NIA further found in its probe in the case, which was originally registered by September 2022 by the Karnataka Police, that Ali was in touch with an online ISIS handler. He also worked as a funding channel for the Shivamogga terror module by receiving terror funds through cryptocurrency and disbursing the same among his co-accused. According to the NIA’s probe, an online handler identified as ‘Colonel’ provided funds to the accused members of the module “in cryptocurrency to crypto wallets of the accused and their friends to further the activities of IS”. The Karnataka Police had arrested two people in the case, and later, the NIA arrested 10 others after it took over the investigation. NIA had subsequently filed charges against all 12 accused. The case involves the conducting of trial blasts on the banks of the river Tungabhadra, near Shivamogga in 2022. The Shivamogga ISIS terror module was accidentally unearthed in 2022 after a stabbing incident that occurred in the city of Shivamogga on Independence Day, where Zabiullah was arrested for attempting to kill an innocent bystander in a communal incident. Links with Bengaluru Rameshwaram Cafe blast case The main accused in the 2024 Bengaluru Rameshwaram Cafe blast case of 2024 – Abdul Matheen Taha, 32, Mussavir Hussain Shazib, 32 – and the accused in the 2022 Mangaluru cooker blast case, Mohammed Shariq, 27, are also accused of being part of the Shivamogga module but have not pleaded guilty and have chosen to face the trial in the case. The Shivamogga module is alleged to have been handled by a missing accused from a 2012 Bengaluru LeT terror conspiracy case, Mohammed Shahid Faizal, who is currently based abroad. Faizal is also suspected to be linked to the Kashmir doctors module accused in the November 10 Red Fort blast case, and an October 23, 2022, Coimbatore suicide scare bomb case on account of similar modus operandi employed by the separate modules in the blasts. Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram