news details |
|
|
| Terror funding case: NIA Court awards life imprisonment to 3 OGWs | | |
Early Times Report
Jammu, Apr 24: Special Judge NIA Jammu Ashwani Sharma after 19 years of investigation and trial, awarded life-imprisonment to three Over Ground Workers (OGWs) of terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen in a terror funding case.
The OGWs who were awarded life imprisonment are Majid Ali Sheikh, Shah Nawaz and Majid Amin.
According to the police case the accused were caught red handed by the naka party of Army Intelligence and SOG of J&K police near village Tarore, Bari Brahmana on the basis of specific information and a sum of Rs. 9,38,000/-was recovered from the vehicle Maruti Omini van bearing registration No. JK02J-1505 in which the accused were coming from Delhi towards Jammu that on 28/12/2004.
The said amount was a collected by the accused from one Javed Ahmed Wani of Ghat Tehsil Doda and was to be delivered by the convicts to Hizbul terrorist Masood Ahmed an area commander of District Doda, for enhancing the terrorist activities in District Doda of the erstwhile state of J&K.
Special Judge NIA Ashwani Sharma after hearing APP Anil Magotra for the UT whereas Adv Rajinder Singh Jamwal for the accused, observed that on the existence of aggregating and mitigating circumstances the evaluation thereof, this courts comes to the conclusion that the aggravating circumstances are much grave and serious than the mitigating circumstances, as such, in the considered opinion of the court the convicts do not deserve any leniency while imposing the sentence upon them. The aggravating circumstances in the present case outweigh the mitigating circumstances because the accused are involved in the commission of offence under the provisions of Unlawful Activities Act for commission of terrorist activities, by raising/collecting funds and providing the same to the members of banned terrorist HM.
The terrorist act can destabilize governments, undermine civil society, Jeopardize peace, and security, threaten economic and social development and may especially negatively affect certain groups. It disrupts livelihoods, increase violence and fear, affects production of all sectors of economy, destroy infrastructure and has resulted in bloodshed. In all cases of terrorist attack normal life is disrupted, production in the economy is stalled besides the efforts to provide peace and security, the Judge observed.
The court further observed that undue sympathy to impose inadequate sentence would do more harm to the just system to undermine the public confidence in the efficacy of law and society could not long endure under such serious threats. Just punishment is the collective cry of the society. While the collective cry has to be kept uppermost in the mind, simultaneously the principle of proportionality between the crime and punishment can be totally brushed aside. Thus, taking into consideration the nature and gravity of offence the punishment should be awarded commensurate with the offence committed by the accused.
The court after hearing APP Anil Magotra observed that imprisonment for life is the adequate and just sentence commensurate with the act of the accused in committing the offence. Thus, the accused are sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life and with fine in the sum of Rs. 10,000/- each for commission of offence u/s. 17 UA(P) Act and further sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life with fine in the sum of Rs. 10,000/- each for commission of offence u/s. 21 UA(P) Act. However, both the punishments shall run concurrently. (JNF) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
