New Delhi, May 25 (agencies)
Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik, convicted in terrorism funding case, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the court. Earlier in the morning, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had requested for the death penalty in the court. Malik had accepted all the charges against him, including those under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The agency made this representation before the court of Special Judge Praveen Singh, while an amicus curiae appointed by the court to assist Malik had sought minimum punishment, i.e., life imprisonment in the case. Meanwhile, Malik had told the judge that he was leaving it to the court to decide his sentence. After hearing the arguments, the court had reserved its verdict, which was pronounced in the evening.
The court had on May 19 convicted Yasin Malik, chief of the banned outfit Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). He had directed the NIA officials to assess the financial condition of Malik to impose fine on him. Malik had told the court that he does not oppose the charges leveled against him. The charges include sections 16 (terrorist acts), 17 (raising funds for terrorist acts), 18 (conspiracy to act terroristic) and 20 (being a member of a terrorist gang or organization) of the UAPA and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code. (criminal conspiracy) and 124-A (sedition).
The court had earlier, Farooq Ahmed Dar alias Bitta Karate, Shabir Shah, Masrat Alam, Mohammad Yusuf Shah, Aftab Ahmed Shah, Altaf Ahmed Shah, Naeem Khan, Mohammad Akbar Khande, Raja Mehrajuddin Kalwal, Bashir Ahmed Bhat, Zahoor Ahmed Shah Watali, Charges were formally framed against Kashmiri separatist leaders including Shabbir Ahmed Shah, Abdul Rashid Sheikh and Naval Kishore Kapoor. A chargesheet was also filed against Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed and Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin, who have been named as absconding criminals in the case.
