Posted on 10/31/2005 9:55:40 PM PST by ncountylee
Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba militant Mohammad Arif alias Ashfaq was today handed down the death penalty and fined Rs 4.35 lakh by a Delhi court in the December 2000 Red Fort attack case for waging war against the country and killing three Army personnel.
The court also awarded life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs one lakh each to two other convicts hailing from Jammu and Kashmir, Nazir Ahmed Qasid and his son Farooq Ahmed Qasid, who also have been found guilty of waging war against the state and criminal conspiracy.
"I direct that he (Ashfaq) shall be hanged by neck till he is dead... This is a case where life imprisonment would be inadequate and ends of justice would be served only by awarding death sentence," Special Judge O P Saini said in a packed court where unprecedented security was in place in the wake of Saturday's serial blasts that claimed over 70 lives.
Terming the crime as "rarest of rare", Saini said "not only such dastardly acts are being committed with increased frequency these days in which many people are being killed with impunity ....This needs to be curbed with a heavy hand. Death sentence is one such deterrent measure".
Ashfaq was awarded the death penalty on two counts -- under section 121 (waging war against the country) and section 302 (murder) of the IPC. He was also sentenced to life imprisonment under the Explosives Substances Act and ten years RI for conspiracy to wage war and seven-year RI each for cheating and forgery and a five-year jail term under the Foreigners Act.
Ashfaq's Indian wife Rehmana Yousuf Farooqui, Babar Mohsin Baghwala, Sadaqat Ali and Matloob Alam were sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment for their complicity in the crime.
The death sentence against Ashfaq is subject to confirmation
(Excerpt) Read more at outlookindia.com ...
Didn't know that India had the death penalty. One swinging Muslim coming up.
What will they do if he doesn't pay the fine, hang him? :-)
Justice Lahoti for retaining death penalty
http://www.ndtv.com/morenews/showmorestory.asp?slug=Justice+Lahoti+for+retaining+death+penalty&id=80752&category=National
NDTV Correspondent
Friday, October 28, 2005 (New Delhi):
On his last day in office, Chief Justice of India R C Lahoti said that he supported the retention of death penalty.
Referring to the continued debate on death penalty, the CJI said it should continue to remain in force.
Justice Lahoti also said perpetrators of bomb blasts like the ones that rocked the capital on October 29 deserve capital punishment.
"Which other penalty is required other than this (death penalty) for this dastardly act? What other punishment is called for? Ask the man who has masterminded this blast," he said.
The outgoing Chief Justice also emphasized the need for a new set of anti-terror laws in the country. (With PTI inputs)
Yes, but then they won't use the "drop" method. They'll hoist him and let him strangle slowly.
India has this thing called rigorous imprisonment, reserved for crimes like terrorism and other extreme acts. Basically, the prisoners are made to work on quarries worse than anyone can imagine, and then hang 'em, if they are under deathrow, as in this case.
That's a pretty good "deterrent measure". Bet Mohammad Arif doesn't do anything like that again :)
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