Mumbai, July 22
Mohammad Afroze, a Mumbai youth who was accused of being part of Al-Qaida and arrested in 2001, was on Wednesday convicted by a special court set up under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
Afroze was arrested after the Mumbai police claimed to have unveiled a plot under which he was to crash an airplane in the UK’s House of Commons and other institutions.
Judge A.P. Bhangale of the Special Court found Afroze guilty under Sections 120-B (conspiracy) and Section 126 of the Indian Penal Code (committing depredation on territories of power at peace with the Government of India). The sentence under this charge is five years’ rigorous imprisonment.
Afroze was also found guilty under Section 467, IPC (forgery of valuable security) read with Section 471, IPC (using as genuine forged documents). Under this, he was sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment.
Designated Judge A.P. Bhangale, however, acquitted him from the charge of conspiring to wage war against the nation (Section 121-A, IPC
Afroze’s brother Mohammad Farooq Abdul Razaq was acquitted as the police could not produce substantial evidence against him.
Mohammad Afroze was arrested on December 3, 2001, weeks after the September 11 attacks in the US. He was accused of conspiring to bomb the House of Commons in UK, Parliament House in India and Radio Towers in Australia.
However, the police authorities in the UK and Australia had given a clean chit.
