Kashmir recruitment: Trial to begin in January

KOCHI: The Ernakulam NIA Special court on Tuesday said that the trial in the Kashmir recruitment case, which is the second case coming up before the court after the Kozhikode twin blasts case, will begin in January.Judge S Vijayakumar issued production warrant for 11 accused in the case, who are now in Bangalore jail in connection with the Bangalore bomb blast case. These accused will be produced before the court on January 7. Another accused Sainudeen will also be bought from Gujarat jail. “The trial proceedings are likely to be completed in February,” the court said. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had filed chargesheets against 24 accused in the Kashmir recruitment case for waging war against the nation. Abdul Jaleel is the first accused. Pakistan national Wali alias Abu Rehan is the 24th accused in the case. Five youths recruited from Kerala were sent to Jammu and Kashmir where they got training on jihad from Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT). Later, four of them were killed in an encounter with the Indian security forces. The accused have been charged with offences under  124 (a) (Sedition), 122 (Collecting arms with the intention of waging war against the Government of India), 153 (A) (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion) and 120 (B) (Criminal conspiracy), along with various sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967 and Arms Act, 1959.