Pune anaesthetist admits guilt in ISIS recruitment case; court gives effective six years

A Pune doctor accused of recruiting members for the Islamic State (ISIS) has pleaded guilty, and a special court has sentenced him to an effective six years in prison.

The court said it had considered both the seriousness of the offences and the remorse expressed by the accused, Dr. Adnan Ali Sarkar, an anaesthesiologist, who told the court he was repenting his wrong deeds.

The background

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested Dr. Sarkar at his home in Kondhwa, Pune, in July 2023, as part of its investigation into what it called the Maharashtra ISIS module. In December 2023 it charged him and five others under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), accusing them of recruiting young people, raising funds and keeping ISIS propaganda, in a case heard by the special NIA court in Mumbai.

A guilty plea ends the case against him without a full trial. He has been in custody since his arrest, and that period is normally set off against a prison sentence. The cases against the other accused continue.