A Delhi court on Wednesday sentenced Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik?to life imprisonment in a terror funding case.
Malik, the chief of banned JKLF had earlier pleaded guilty to all the charges, including those under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), in a terror funding case.
He told the court that he was not contesting the charges levelled against him including sections 16 (terrorist act), 17 (raising funds for the terrorist act), 18 (conspiracy to commit terrorist act), and 20 (being member of terrorist gang or organisation) of the UAPA and sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 124-A (sedition) of the IPC.
Malik had also submitted that he would not ¡°beg¡± for mercy and said that if Indian Intelligence can prove that he had been involved in any terrorist activity or violence in 28 years, then he would retire from politics, and will also accept the hanging.
The judge, however, said that since he has already been convicted, there was no point in arguing on the facts of the case and that he was already given the opportunity.
The amicus curiae appointed by the court to assist Malik, sought minimum punishment, i.e., life imprisonment in the matter.
The NIA had sought the death penalty for Malik.
The agency told Special Judge Praveen Singh in an in-chamber proceeding that Malik was responsible for the Kashmiri exodus.
Ahead of his sentencing, security forces were deployed in strength in the city to avoid any law and order problems.
Parts of Srinagar observed a shutdown on Wednesday and most shops and business establishments in Maisuma and adjoining areas, including some shops in Lal Chowk, were shut.
Shops in some areas of the old city here were also shut, however, public transport was plying normally.
The court has also formally framed the charges against Kashmiri separatist leaders including Farooq Ahmed Dar alias Bitta Karate, Shabbir Shah, Masarat Alam, Md Yusuf Shah, Aftab Ahmad Shah, Altaf Ahmad Shah, Nayeem Khan, Md Akbar Khanday, Raja Mehrajuddin Kalwal, Bashir Ahmad Bhat, Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, Shabir Ahmad Shah, Abdul Rashid Sheikh, and Naval Kishore Kapoor.
"The analysis reflects that the statements of witnesses and documentary evidence have connected almost all the accused with each other and to a common object of secession, to the commonality of means they were to use, their close association to terrorist/ terrorist organizations under the guiding hand and funding of Pakistani establishment," the court had said.?
The charge sheet was also filed against Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed and Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin, who have been declared proclaimed offenders (PO) in the case.
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