Terror IS couple that ‘plotted over 100 blasts’ in Delhi get up to 20 years in jail
Jahanjeb Sami and Hina Bashir Baig, a couple residing in Delhi's Jamia Nagar, have been sentenced for their ties to the Islamic State (IS). The duo, arrested in 2020 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, were found guilty of attempting to establish a caliphate and plotting 100 blasts in the city. Sami received sentences ranging from three to 20 years, while Baig was awarded two seven-year sentences. The investigation revealed their online personas as active radicalizers linked to IS operatives in Syria and Afghanistan.
Sami and Baig, both in their mid-30s, moved to Delhi from Jammu and Kashmir in 2019. Sami, with a BTech and MBA, worked for a UK-based firm, while Baig, after her MBA, had worked in banks before taking a break. They rented a flat in Jamia Nagar's C Block, initially enjoying weekends outdoors. However, the 2019 anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests and the subsequent COVID-19 pandemic kept them indoors, where they spent time surfing the internet.
Arrest and Investigation
In the early hours of March 8, 2020, sleuths of the anti-terror unit of Delhi Police arrested Sami and Baig, booking them under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. This move shocked their families and marked the beginning of a lengthy legal battle. The couple, also known by their online aliases as Hannabee, Katijah al Kashmiri (Baig), and Xaib, Abu Abdullah, Abu Muhammad-al-Hind (Sami), were accused of being IS members.
Investigations showed they were under surveillance for months, with intercepted communications
