The Supreme Court today upheld a Delhi Court order in the Red Fort attack case, and approved death sentence for Pakistani LeT militant Mohammed Ashfaq.

THE SUPREME Court has retained a Delhi Court verdict for Pakistani LeT militant Mohammed Ashfaq, also known as Arif, who was involved in the Red Fort attack case of 2000. Arif along with five other Lashkar-e-Taiba militants had forcefully entered the Red Fort and started firing at the guards of 7th Battallion of Rajputana Rifles. Two guards and a civilian were killed in the attack.

An investigation was launched soon afterwards, followed by an encounter in Jamia Nagar, New Delhi, during which Arif and his wife Rehmana Yousuf Farooqui were arrested.

Later in 2005, a Delhi Court gave Arif a death sentence, while it ordered a seven-year prison sentence for his wife. Also, Arif’s partners in crime - Nazir Ahmed Qasid and Farooq Ahmed Qasid - were sentenced to life in prison. In addition to them, three other convicts, Babar Mohshin Bhagwala, Sadakat Ali and Matloob Alam, were sentenced to seven years in prison, while four others were declared not guilty.

Disappointed with the court’s decision, Ashfaq filed an appeal in the high court. But the Delhi High Court reserved the trial court judgement of death sentence for Ashfaq. The court, however, exonerated six others in the case.