SIMI's Abu Faizal convicted in constable murder case

Bhopal: Abu Faizal, a key leader of banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), was on Friday convicted by a special court here for the murder of a police constable in 2009.

The court is scheduled to pronounce the quantum of tomorrow.

Special Additional Sessions Judge BS Bhadoria found Faizal alias doctor, who is in judicial custody and attended the hearing from Bhopal Central Jail via video conference, guilty under section 302 (murder) of IPC for the killing of constable Sitaram Yadav in 2009 in Khandwa district.

He has also been convicted under different sections of IPC and Arms Act.

The court also found Faizal's accomplice Mahtab guilty of supplying arms to him which were used for killing the constable. Mahtab was convicted under sections 25 of Arms Act.

He was out on bail and had come to the court, from where he was sent to jail.

Faizal became agitated and started shouting when the court pronounced him guilty.

"Faizal, with the help of four others, had shot dead Yadav. While three of the accused are absconding, another one has died," special public prosecutor Naresh Gupta told PTI.

He said that Faizal was arrested two years ago by Indore police.

Heavy police force was today deployed at the district court here. The two convicts would be brought to the court tomorrow.

Faisal allegedly masterminded the jailbreak in Khandwa in October 2013 and was apprehended two months later. Two other SIMI activists were killed by police in an encounter in Nalgonda in Telangana in April.