Twitter
Advertisement

Akshardham attack: Death sentence for 3 upheld

The bench said that the accused had participated in the crime despite knowing its consequences. Though first-time offenders, they intentionally took part in an act that was anti-national.

Latest News
article-main
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

The Gujarat high court has upheld a POTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act) court's order awarding the death sentence to three persons for the terrorist attack on Akshardham temple in 2002.

A bench of justice RM Doshi and justice KM Thakker rejected the appeals moved by six convicts against the conviction delivered by designated POTA judge Sonia Gokani on July 1, 2006.

Gokani had awarded the death sentence to Adam Suleman Ajmeri, Shan Miyan alias Chand Khan, and mufti Abdul Qaiyum for their role in the fidayeen attack on the temple in Ahmedabad after the 2002 Gujarat riots.

Of the three other convicts, Mohammad Salim Shaikh was given life imprisonment, while Abdulla Miyan Quadri and Altaf Hussain Malek got 10 years' and five years' imprisonment, respectively.

Malek has already completed his sentence.

“The court delivered the judgment after it found the six men guilty of helping banned terror outfits Lashkar-e-Taiba [LeT] and Jaish-e-Mohammed to commit the heinous crime by hatching a conspiracy,” special government pleader JM Panchal said.

“The bench delivered the judgment by evaluating the confessional statements of the five accused, evidences and legal aspects,” he said.

The bench said the accused had participated in the crime despite knowing its consequences. Though first-time offenders, they intentionally took part in an act that was anti-national.

The attack on the Akshardham temple on September 24, 2002, was unprecedented. Two LeT terrorists, Murtuza Hafiz Yasin and Ashraf Ali Mohammed Farooq of Pakistan, had entered the temple complex and started firing indiscriminately from AK-47 rifles.

They also lobbed grenades and killed 33 people, including a commando of the National Security Guards (NSG) and a state police constable, and injured many before they were gunned down by the NSG.

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement