Red Fort attack: SC rules death for LeT terrorist Mohd Arif

The Supreme Court on Wednesday confirmed the death sentence for Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist Mohammad Arif alias Ashfaq in the 2000 Red Fort attack case in which three people, including two army jawans, were killed.

A bench of justices V S Sirpukar and T S Thakur dismissed the appeal of Ashfaq, challenging the death sentence awarded for the December 22, 2000 Red Fort attack case by the sessions court and affirmed by the Delhi high court.

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The apex court had reserved its verdict on Ashfaq's appeal on April 20.

Ashfaq had challenged the high court's judgment dated September 13, 2007, which had upheld the death penalty awarded to him but had acquitted six others sentenced for varying jail terms.

The high court had dismissed Ashfaq's appeal against a trial court verdict awarding capital punishment to him for waging a war against the state and killing three persons, including two Army jawans, in the Red Fort.

It had reversed the trial court findings against six convicts including Srinagar-based father-and-son duo Nazir Ahmed Qasid and Farooq Ahmed Qasid, who were sentenced to life imprisonment, and Pakistani national Ashfaq's Indian wife Rehamana Yosuf Farooqui. She was given a seven-year jail term.

They were earlier found guilty of harbouring Mohd Ashfaq, one of the six militants, who had sneaked into the 17th century monument and opened indiscriminate fire on the guards of seventh battalion of Rajputana Rifles, killing three including a civilian.

Other convicts who were acquitted by the high court included Babar Mohsin Baghwala, Sadakat Ali and Matloob Alam, who were sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment for sheltering and providing fake Indian identity cards to Ashfaq.