Jaipur court awards life term to 8 Lashkar terrorists, slaps Rs 2 lakh fine each

NEW DELHI: A Jaipur court on Wednesday awarded life imprisonment to at least eight Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists and imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh on each of the convicts for their involvement in terror activities in the country. 

On December 4, the additional district and session's court heard the prosecution and defence arguments on the quantum of punishment.

The LeT members were arrested by Rajasthan ATS in 2010 and were convicted on November 30 this year.

They were charged with criminal conspiracy, recruiting persons for terrorist activities and printing of counterfeit currencies. They were also found guilty of being members of a terrorist organization.

The eight arrested were Asgar Ali, Shakkar Ulla and Shahid Iqbal (all Pakistanis) and Babu alias Nishachand Ali, Hafiz Abdul, Pawan Puri, Arun Jain, and Kabil.

They were in constant touch with Pakistan-based LeT commander Walid alias Vicky.

The court found them guilty under Section 13 (abetting unlawful activity), Section 18 (punishment for conspiracy), Section 18 (B) (recruiting for terror act) and Section 20 (punishment for being a member of terrorist gang or organisation) of the Act, according to Special ATS Public Prosecutor Mahaveer Jindal.

According to the prosecution, the three Pakistani LeT men, who were lodged in different jails across Rajasthan and Punjab, tried to recruit Indians for anti-national activities, such as acts of terrorism, smuggling of explosives and printing of Indian fake currency.

The Rajasthan ATS had intercepted telephonic conversations among the LeT men lodged in various jails, the LeT commander in Pakistan and their recruits in India in 2010. The case was registered on 21 October, 2010 and the chargesheet was filed in court on 15 April, 2015. The prosecution presented 69 witnesses during the trial.