Mumbai: A special court here Tuesday allowed the bail plea of Kalyan resident Areeb Majeed, arrested for allegedly traveling to Syria to join the terrorist organisation Islamic States (IS) in 2014. He however, would not be released immediately as judge RR Bhosale stayed the bail order till March 26 as the National Investigating Agency (NIA) said it wanted to file an appeal against the order.
Majeed was arrested November 28, 2014 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) upon his return from Syria. He had moved the Bombay High Court after the special NIA court denied him bail on several occasions. The high court then asked him to file a fresh plea before the lower court.
Majeed sought bail from the special court on the ground that he was in jail for over six years as an under-trial prisoner.
The other charge slapped on him was Section 125 of the IPC (waging war against a country which has friendly ties with India).
According to the investigating agency, Majeed and three other engineering students from Kalyan flew to Baghdad in 2014, as part of a group of 22 pilgrims visiting Iraq, but after reaching there the group of four joined the IS. The whereabouts of the other three are still not known.
Agencies