Taliban-linked Afghan jailed for three years in Bihar

An Afghan national arrested in 2010 from the Purnia railway station in Bihar and charged with waging war against the state was acquitted of terror charges, but convicted under the Foreigners Act.

Purnia: An Afghan national arrested in 2010 from the Purnia railway station in Bihar and charged with waging war against the state was on Thursday acquitted of terror charges, but convicted under the Foreigners Act. The Additional District and Sessions Judge-I, Rajeshwar Tiwari, passed the order convicting Khan Mirza, alias Ghulam Rasool, under Section 14(A) of the Foreigners Act, 1946, while acquitting him of waging war against the state under section 121(A) of the IPC for lack of evidence.

The Afghan national was sentenced to three years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 3000 under the Foreigners Act. Mirza, suspected to have close links with the Taliban, was arrested from Purnia railway junction on January 13, 2010 while he was travelling by the Jogbani-Katihar train. Khan was taken to Patna where he was interrogated by police and intelligence officials and later charged under the Foreigners Act and waging war against the state. He has been in Purnia central jail since his arrest nearly three years ago. PTI