New Delhi: Kashmiri separatist Yasin Malik was Thursday convicted in a 2017 terror-funding case. This comes days after he pled guilty to all charges, including those under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), for committing a terrorist act, raising funds for terrorism, being a member of a terrorist group and part of a criminal conspiracy, and sedition.
Clad in a light yellow kurta, a pair of blue denims and black slippers, Malik, a leader of the banned Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), was led into the courtroom by at least five Delhi Police personnel, including an ACP rank officer.
Malik had last Tuesday told the court that he was not contesting the charges against him and was “ready to face whatever is next”.
Special Judge Praveen Singh directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to assess Malik’s financial situation in order to determine the amount of fine to be imposed. The court also asked Malik to submit an affidavit on his income and assets for the imposition of fine.
The arguments on the quantum of the sentence would be heard on 25 May.
Amicus curiae (friend of the court) advocate Akhand Pratap Singh, who met Malik inside Delhi’s Tihar jail on two occasions, informed the court that he had tried to convince him to go to trial but the latter refused.
Malik was arrested by the NIA in April 2019 in connection with the terror-funding case, along with a dozen others. A case was subsequently lodged against members of terror organisations such as the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hizbul Mujahideen, Dukhtaran-e-Millat and others.
In March this year, a Delhi court ordered framing of charges against the accused, saying they were part of a criminal conspiracy to cause large-scale protests leading to violence in the country and were direct recipents of terror funds.
The court had also noted that Malik set up an elaborate structure and mechanism to raise funds for terrorists in Jammu & Kashmir under the name of “freedom struggle”.
(Edited by Myithili Hazarika)
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