SC upholds death penalty for LeT terrorist in Red Fort attack

New Delhi, Aug 10 (PTI) India's apex court on Wednesday
confirmed the death sentence for Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist
Mohd Arif alias Ashfaq in the 2000 Red Fort attack case in
which three people, including two Army jawans, were killed.
A bench of justices V S Sirpukar and T S Thakur dismissed
the appeal of Ashfaq, challenging the death sentence awarded
for the December 22, 2000 Red Fort attack case by the sessions
court and affirmed by the Delhi High Court.
The Supreme Court of India had reserved its verdict on
Ashfaq's appeal on April 20, 2011.
Ashfaq had challenged the high court's judgement dated
September 13, 2007 which had upheld the death penalty awarded
to him but had acquitted six others sentenced for varying
jail terms.
The high court had dismissed Ashfaq's appeal against a
trial court verdict awarding capital punishment to him for
waging a war against the state and killing three persons,
including two Army jawans, in the Red Fort.
It had reversed the trial court findings against six
convicts including Srinagar-based father-and-son duo Nazir
Ahmed Qasid and Farooq Ahmed Qasid, who were sentenced to life
imprisonment, and Pakistani national Ashfaq's Indian wife
Rehamana Yosuf Farooqui. She was given a seven-year jail term.
They were earlier found guilty of harbouring Mohd Ashfaq,
one of the six militants, who had sneaked into the 17th
century monument and opened indiscriminate fire on the guards
of seventh battalion of Rajputana Rifles, killing three
including a civilian.
Other convicts who were acquitted by the high court
included Babar Mohsin Baghwala, Sadakat Ali and Matloob Alam,
who were sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment for
sheltering and providing fake Indian identity cards to Ashfaq.
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