Paving the way for the trial against five persons arrested for their alleged links with Pakistan-based terror organisations and conspiring to kill prominent political leaders and journalists in Bangalore, a special NIA court in Mumbai on Thursday framed charges against them.

The ATS had arrested these persons from Nanded, but the case was transferred to the NIA.

Advocate Sharif Shaikh, who is defending the accused on behalf of Jamiat-e-Ulema Maharashtra, said that the court had framed charges against all the five accused.

The ATS had arrested Mohammed Muzzammil, Mohammed Sadique, Mohammed Iliyas, Mohammed Irfan and Mohammed Akram from different parts of Nanded in August 2008, on the charges that these people were connected with the Lashkar-e-Taiyaba and Harkat-ul-Jehad. The ATS sleuths had claimed it recovered revolvers and cartridges from them.

Though the accused were arrested in 2008, the trial could not commence against them as initially the case was in Aurangabad but later was transferred to Mumbai sessions court and the NIA took over the probe from the ATS for further investigation. In the meantime, Akram was in a Bangalore jail for some other crime.

The court framed charges against them under various sections of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), the Arms Act and for criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code. The prosecution’s case is that the accused, at the behest of their leader and handlers based in Saudi Arabia, were planning to eliminate some of the local Hindu leaders in Nanded and Hyderabad to disrupt communal harmony.

According to NIA, Akram went to Saudi Arabia under the guise of seeking employment and during his stay there he was introduced to various operatives of LeT and HUJI. During his stay in Saudi Arabia, Akram along with wanted accused allegedly conspired at Riyadh to carry out the killings of prominent Hindu leaders, journalists, politicians and police officers in various parts of India.

The agency further alleged that later Akram was sent back to India for executing killings in different parts of the country like Bangalore, Hyderabad and Nanded to create unrest and threaten the unity, integrity, security and sovereignty of India.