An NIA Special Court here on Tuesday sentenced the convicts in the Vagamon SIMI Case to seven years of rigorous imprisonment.
Pronouncing the sentence, the court also imposed a fine of ₹25000 on each of the accused. As the remand period of the convicts could be deducted from the jail term, only four among the accused, identified as Abdul Sathar, Habib Salahi, Mansoor Imam and Alam Jeb Afridi, will have to undergo imprisonment.
The remaining convicts, however, will continue to be in jail as they are set to face trial in the Ahammedabad blasts case.
On Monday, the court had found 18 accused, including four Keralites, guilty in the case while aquitting 17 others on the ground of lack of evidence. Of the 38 accused charged, 35 were put on trial.
These accused persons were found guilty of offence under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) sections 10(being member of the unlawful association) and 38 (member who associate with the terrorist organisation); Explosive Substances Act section 4 for possession of explosive substances and section 120(b) of IPC for criminal conspiracy. Further, 13 of them were also found guilty for section 20 of UAPA.
According to the NIA chargesheet, at the Vagamon camp, leaders of SIMI had conspired to conduct training camps for its active cadres and conducted camps in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and many other places during 2007 in deference to a decision taken at the camp.It also charged that the SIMI activists had imparted training in combat, arms, firing, making of bombs, motorbike manoeuvres and rope climbing at this secret camp.
