Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly's alleged kidnap conspiracy case enters a crucial stage with the prosecution all set to start its final argument against six alleged terrorists.
Cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly's alleged kidnap conspiracy case enters a crucial stage on Friday with the prosecution all set to start its final argument in a court here against six alleged terrorists of Hizbul Mujahideen.
The terrorists were arrested in 2002 for hatching a conspiracy to kidnap the cricketers for allegedly mounting pressure on the authorities to release the jailed Hizbul members.
The final hearing in over six-year-old case, lodged under stringent provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act(POTA), would begin in the court of Additional Sessions Judge Pinky, who recently got the sanction from the office of Lt governor to hear cases filed under special statutes.
Earlier, the public prosecutor had started advancing final arguments in the case on August 1, last year.
The alleged Hizbul militants, who wanted to secure the release of two jailed members of the outfit by kidnapping the famous cricketers, had a wider plan of eliminating former president A P J Abdul Kalam, the then scientific advisor to the Defence Ministry, the prosecution alleged.
They had allegedly planned to attack the Baba Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai, it said.
All the accused, who were arrested in February and March in 2002, have been booked under various provisions of the POTA, the IPC and the Explosives Act, which carry a maximum sentence of the death penalty. They are charged with hatching conspiracy to wage war against the state and keeping explosives.
Besides three Pakistan-based accused, Tariq Mohammed, Ashfaq Ahmed and Ashad Khan, the others are -- Mufti Israr, Ghulam Qadir Bhatt and Ghulam Mohd Dar.
While the alleged mastermind, Jalaluddin, has been declared a proclaimed offender after police failed to arrest him.
The court, in 2003, had framed charges against the accused in the case in which the prosecution had concluded recording of evidence May 23, 2008.
The trial in the case was held-up since November 1 last year, the day when a major reshuffle was effected in the lower judiciary.
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