Abolish Death Penalty India: Yasin Bhatkal

Saturday, December 22, 2018

Hyderabad blast case: Yasin Bhatkal, four others get death sentence by NIA court

By Express Web Desk |New Delhi |Updated: December 19, 2016 6:41:07 pm

Eighteen people were killed in the twin blast at Dilsukhnagar in Hyderabad on February 21, 2013.

Yasin Bhatkal was convicted by the NIA court on December 13.

A special NIA court in Hyderabad on Monday sentenced Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal and four others to death in the 2013 Dilsukhnagar blast case. Bhatkal, Zia-ur-Rehman alias Waqas, Asadullah Akhtar alias Haddi, Tahaseen Akhtar and Aijaz Sheikh, and IM founder Riyaz Bhatkal, the prime accused in the case, who is absconding, were convicted by the NIA court in Cherlapally Central Prison on December 13. On November 7, the final arguments had concluded in the case before the NIA special court. Since IM founder Riyaz Bhatkal, the prime accused in the case, is absconding, the trial was split up against him. The court convicted Yasin Bhatkal and others under various sections of Indian Penal Code, Arms Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The NIA special court, after hearing the defence and prosecution’s arguments, pronounced the quantum of sentence.

According to NIA, Riyaz Bhatkal arranged for explosive substances and directed Asadullah Akhtar and Zia-ur-Rahman at Mangalore to receive the same. After receiving the explosive materials and the money sent by Riyaz through hawala and money transfer channels, Asadullah Akhtar and Waqas reached Hyderabad and joined Tahseen Akhtar, who was already hiding there, it had said. Together they prepared two IEDs after procuring the other required materials as well as two cycles for mounting the IEDs from Hyderabad, the agency had said. After preparation of the IEDs on February 21, 2013, the accused mounted two bombs on two bicycles. They had planted them in two separate places in Dilsukhnagar which resulted in powerful explosions, it had said. Eighteen people were killed in the twin blast. The first bomb went off at Anand Tiffins, located opposite Konark Theatre while the second bomb exploded between Venkatadri Theatre and Dilsukhnagar Bus Stand.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/hyderabad-blast-case-yasin-bhatkal-four-others-get-death-sentence-by-nia-court/ (Accessed 22 December 2018)

Thursday, December 20, 2018

German bakery blast: State challenges Bombay HC verdict converting Baig’s death penalty to life (Maharashtra)

By Express News Service |Pune/new Delhi |Published: July 1, 2016 12:20:57 am

Government has also taken objection to the HC’s remarks on terror operative Yasin Bhatkal in this case. The Maharashtra government on Thursday moved the Supreme Court (SC), seeking death penalty for Mirza Himayat Inayat Baig (32), the lone convict in the German Bakery blast in Pune, which had claimed 17 lives on February 13, 2010. The appeal filed through state government’s standing counsel Nishant R Katneshwarkar challenged the Bombay High Court (HC) verdict that had commuted Baig’s capital punishment to life term.

It also challenged Baig’s acquittal under various sections of the Unlawful Prevention (Activities) Act and the IPC, including Sections 302 (murder) read with 120-B (criminal conspiracy), by the High Court. The High Court has given life term to Baig, 32, under the Explosive Substances Act. The state has also taken objection to the HC’s remarks on terror operative Yasin Bhatkal in this case. The ATS had arrested Baig, a native of Beed district of Maharashtra, on September 7, 2010, from Pulgate area of Pune for his alleged involvement in the German Bakery blast.

German bakery blast convict Himayat Baig (Photo Deccan Chronicle)

On April 18, 2013, the sessions court in Pune awarded death sentence to Baig, holding him guilty under Sections 10 (b), 16 (1)(a) of UAPA, Sections 302, 120 (b) of IPC and Section 3 of Explosives Substances Act. Baig moved the HC against the lower court order, and on March 17, this year, the HC, while setting aside Baig’s death sentence, acquitted him from charges under Sections of UAPA, Sections 120 (b), 302 of IPC and Section 3 (b) of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908.

The court granted him life term, holding him guilty under Section 5 (b) of the Explosive Substances Act, and seven years’ imprisonment as charge under Section 474 of IPC was confirmed. Speaking to The Indian Express, special public prosecutor Raja Thakre confirmed that the state had filed an appeal in SC against the Bombay HC order. “We have challenged the acquittal orders of the HC on certain sections against Baig. We also have raised objections on the remarks of the HC on Yasin Bhatkal. We have appealed to the SC that these remarks be expunged from the records,” said Thakre.

According to ATS, the bakery blast conspiracy was hatched in Colombo in 2008 and finalised in Udgir in Maharashtra in January 2010. The chargesheet said that Baig was the alleged LeT commander for Maharashtra. ATS has alleged that Baig had gone to Colombo in March 2008 to discuss the plan with Fayyaz Kagzi and Zabiuddin Ansari and “the diabolic design to cause further terrorist activities was finalised” there. Baig was allegedly trained by the duo to build an explosive device and explode it. They are also suspected to have given him money for explosive devices and travel of Muslim youth indoctrinated for terror training.

On February 13, Baig and Yasin allegedly carried the explosive device in a private vehicle from Udgir to Latur and in a state transport bus from Latur to Pune. The duo then hailed an autorickshaw to travel from Poolgate bus stand to Pune Railway Station and from there they went to Central Mall in another autorickshaw. “Yasin planted the bomb in a haversack at the bakery around 5 pm and triggered it with the help of a mobile triggering device at 6.50 pm,” the chargesheet stated.

Meanwhile, ATS claimed that Yasin Bhatkal was seen in the CCTV footage obtained from the blast site. Later, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the probe into the case. In June 2012, the accused Zabiudding Ansari alias Abu Jundal was deported from Saudi Arabia to India. In August 2013, the accused Yasin Bhatkal was held on the India-Nepal border. In March 2014, ATS formally arrested Yasin in the German Bakery blast case and filed a supplementary chargesheet against him in August.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/german-bakery-blast-state-challenges-bombay-hc-verdict-converting-baigs-death-penalty-to-life/ (Accessed 20 December 2018)

The Death Penalty Scenario in India

India is one of 193 countries that retains the death penalty. Some judges have delivered landmark verdicts upholding the rights of death row prisoners, while debates continue advocating abolition or reform of sentencing policies. The Indian government remains committed to retention, asserting executions occur only in “rarest of rare” cases. The death penalty applies to crimes including murder, kidnapping, terrorism, desertion, inducement to suicide of a minor or mentally-retarded person, and in certain cases of rape. Outrage over child rape and murder has intensified these discussions. After an unofficial eight-year moratorium, the government executed Ajmal Kasab (Mumbai attacks) in 2012 and Afzal Guru (Parliament attack) in 2013, both covertly and immediately after mercy petitions were rejected. Prior to this, Dhananjoy Chatterjee was executed in 2004 after 13 years on death row. Following these, many mercy petitions have been rejected, creating fear among death row convicts. Courts continue to hand down death sentences at an increasing rate. Empirical studies highlight the plight of death row prisoners. The India Exclusion Report 2017-18 found fair trial rights largely denied, with convicts often marginalized by caste, religion, poverty, and education. The Death Penalty Research Project (2015) documented socio-economic profiles and experiences of death row prisoners. Dr. Reena Mary George’s studies (2014, 2009) emphasized poverty, social exclusion, and dignity as central to death row experiences, and examined the human rights impact of the penalty. According to the National Crime Records Bureau 2015, 101 prisoners were on death row, with many sentences commuted to life. The “rarest of rare” doctrine introduced by the Supreme Court in the 1980s has not substantially limited death sentences, which have increased over the decades. Justice Joseph (2018) reaffirmed the Bachan Singh judgment but urged restriction of the death penalty to only those cases meeting its criteria. While updating the blog and conducting my own empirical studies, I observed the heinous nature of the crimes that were committed and thought about the families, about their loss, about the victims who for no fault of their own died. If I lost my relative or a dear friend, would I still oppose death penalty and would I still advocate to abolish the death sentence? Having worked in the criminal justice system and also having the seen the other side, where often it is the marginalized, vulnerable and oppressed who are on death row makes me want to advocate for abolition of this punishment. Victims should definitely get justice for their loss, for their pain. No one should escape the rule of law. As long as humanity exists; crime will exist. Should we not re-consider our sentencing policies? Reena Mary George