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| SC affirms death penalty of LeT terrorist Mohammad Arif in Red Fort attack case | | | agencies
NEW DELHI, Nov 3: The Supreme Court has dismissed the plea of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Mohammad Arif alias Ashfaq and affirmed the death penalty on Thursday. Arif is sentenced to death in the 2000 Red Fort attack case where two army personnel and a civilian lost their lives. He earlier filed a plea seeking a review of its judgement awarding the death penalty to him. Arif was arrested three days after the attack. His death sentence was confirmed by the Delhi High Court in September 2007 and, after that by the Supreme Court of India.
"We have accepted the prayers that electronic records must be placed in consideration. His guilt is proved. We affirm the view taken by this court and reject the review petition," said the bench comprising Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit and Justice Bela M Trivedi.
According to a report by news agency, in September 2007, the Delhi High Court had upheld the death sentence for Ashfaq, saying terrorists who have no value for human lives deserved capital punishment.
Arif from Pakistan's Abbottabad was one of the accused, who had entered the Red Fort on December 22, 2000, and had opened indiscriminate firing leading to the death of three. On October 31, 2005, the trial court convicted seven accused, including Arif and awarded him the death penalty in the matter. The high court, however, acquitted six others because of the lack of sufficient evidence against them.
According to a report by news agency, then Defence Minister George Fernandes had then said that the Red Fort was not a high-security area and army battalions present inside were on a peace posting.
This attack occurred when the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government enforced a unilateral ceasefire at the India-Pakistan border to improve tense relations between the two nations. |
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