NIA Court Sentences Four ISIS Operatives to Up to Six Years in ‘Voice of Hind’ Terror Conspiracy Case

Four operatives pleaded guilty to spreading ISIS propaganda and recruiting youth through the "Sawt-al-Hind" magazine

September 29, 2026

Four Convicted: What the NIA Found in the Sawt-al-Hind Case

Case traces an ISIS network that used Telegram to spread “Sawt-al-Hind” propaganda and recruit Indian youth

A special NIA court at Rouse Avenue sentenced four operatives of the banned Islamic State (ISIS) to jail terms ranging up to six years on Monday, after they pleaded guilty in connection with the “Voice of Hind” terror conspiracy case.

The court found the four guilty of criminal conspiracy and offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Indian Penal Code, relating to the dissemination and propagation of ISIS material, radicalisation and recruitment of youth, and furthering the activities of a proscribed terrorist organisation. The case, registered by the National Investigation Agency in 2021, was formally numbered RC-14/2021/NIA/DLI.

The conspiracy behind “Voice of Hind”

According to the NIA, the case centres on a conspiracy hatched by ISIS to radicalise and recruit impressionable youth in India to wage violent jihad against the Indian state. ISIS operatives working from various conflict zones, together with ISIS cadres inside India, built a network using pseudonymous online identities to spread ISIS propaganda. The agency said this online campaign was supplemented by on-ground terror-financing activity.

Investigators traced the involvement of cyber entities and their associates in the content creation, editing, publication and distribution of “Sawt-al-Hind” (Voice of Hind), an India-centric ISIS propaganda magazine circulated through Telegram and other online platforms. During the investigation, the NIA said it recovered a large volume of incriminating material, including PDF copies of the magazine, posters of slain terrorists, radicalisation literature, links to ISIS propaganda, an ISIS-branded T-shirt, chats and audio recordings related to weapons procurement, and ISIS flags and banners.

The convicts and their roles

Umar Nisar was found to have disseminated ISIS material through the Voice of Hind magazine, Telegram and other online channels to radicalise and recruit youth. Rameez Ahmad Lone and Tanveer Ahmad Bhat were found to have preached ISIS ideology and worked to radicalise and recruit youth to join the organisation. Afshan Parvaiz Jarabi was found to have published and disseminated articles for the magazine through Telegram channels while propagating ISIS ideology and inviting others to join.

Three of the accused — Nisar, Lone and Bhat, all from Anantnag in Jammu and Kashmir — were arrested by the NIA in July after searches of their premises turned up incriminating documents, digital devices and ISIS-branded merchandise.

NIA’s assessment

The agency said its investigation had firmly established the involvement of the accused in the activities of the ISIS “Voice of Hind” module and their role in advancing the aims of the banned organisation through online activity.

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