2000 terrorist attack on Red Fort
On 22 December 2000, a terrorist attack took place on Red Fort in Delhi, India. It was carried out by Pakistani terrorist group Lashkar-e-Toiba. It killed two soldiers and one civilian,[1][2] in what was described in the media as an attempt to derail the India-Pakistan peace talks. Red Fort is an extremely important Indian facility as it hosts the Prime Minister of India annually on August 15. The Red Fort is also significant historically as it was taken over from British control and is an iconic site in India. As a result of the attack, the Indian capital of Delhi, and India as a whole was shaken from the incident.[3]
Attack
On December 22, 2000 starting at approximately 9:00 pm, Two alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba militants began firing indiscriminately and gunned down three army Jawans belong to the 7th Rajputana Rifles. The troops were placed at the fort due to the extreme importance of Red Fort within the history of India. The intruders received returning fire from the Quick Reaction Team of the battalion. All the intruders escaped the Red Fort by scaling over the boundary wall on the rear side of the complex.[4]
Casualties
A total of three soldiers lost their lives as a result of the attack. Abdullah Thakur, a civilian sentry, Rifleman Uma Shankar, and Naik Ashok Kumar were the casualties of the event. Naik Ashok Kumar succumbed to his injuries hours after the event occurred in a Delhi hospital.[5]
How the case was solved
It was a blind case to begin with, and the Delhi Police specialist unit known as the 'Special Cell' began investigating the case, they found a small chit of paper and a few Indian Currency notes, near the rear wall of the Fort where the two assailants had allegedly jumped off, the chit of paper had a mobile number written on it, analysis of the Call details of the mobile by the Indian Police and Intelligence Agencies led them to the alleged mastermind of the attack, Mohammed Arif @ Ashfaq, who was arrested with a loaded pistol, and who confessed to his role in organizing the attack on the Red Fort of Delhi. His interrogation also led the Police Special Cell to his alleged associate, in the Okhla Area of Delhi who was killed by the Police in the alleged exchange of fire. (http://www.thehindu.com/2000/12/27/stories/01270001.htm)
The locals of the Area however disputed the Police Version and the genuineness of the shootout and there were streets protests in the predominating Muslim Community Area. The Police Unit involved in the Shootout the 'Special Cell' of the Delhi Police being notorious for being trigger happy and being involved in other Alleged Extra Judicial Killings known as 'encounters' in India (http://www.thehindu.com/2000/12/28/stories/01280009.htm)
Based on the confession statement given to the Police and Intelligence Agencies during his interrogation, his wife Rehmana, Farooq Ahmad Qasid, Nazir Ahmad Qasid, Babar Mohsin, Devinder Singh, Rajiv Malhotra, Moolchand Sharma, Matloob Alam and Sadaquat Ali were arrested for harboring and various other offenses (http://www.thehindu.com/2001/01/05/stories/0205000b.htm)
Here it is interesting to note that although the attack was attributed to an Islamic terrorist Organization, both Hindus and Muslims were arrested in the case, this may be due to the fact that there was a lot of pressure from the Hindu Right BJP in power to 'solve' the case and bring the culprits to book. The alleged attack being symbolic in nature as Red Fort is the seat of power in Delhi and the Indian Prime Minister traditionally Addresses the Indian Nation on the Indian Independence Day of 15 August.
Assailants
The attack on Red Fort is believed to have been orchestrated by Mohd. Arif, a Lashkar-e-Taiba militant. Arif was given the death penalty by a local court, and a Delhi high court confirmed his death sentence in 2007. Arrested alongside Arif was his wife, Rehmana Yousuf Forooqui. She was arrested four days after the raid and was found guilty of harboring her husband Mohammed Arif, a self admitted Pakistani National The Indian trial court convicted six others in October 2005, with sentences of variety of lengths. In September 2007, the Delhi High Court acquitted the six other accused.The Pakistan-based militant group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, took responsibility of the attacks. The attacks strained already tense relations between India and Pakistan. [6]
Legal Proceedings
As of April 28, 2014, according to the Economic Times, the Supreme court stayed the execution of Mohd Arif. Arif claimed that because he had already spent over 13 years imprisoned, he should no longer be hanged because of the belief that a death sentence would be equal to punishing him twice. His petition also stated that he was facing physical and mental illness due to the long judicial process. The Delhi high court denied his appeal and upheld the original conviction of capital punishment for waging a war against the state and the murder of three people. The Delhi high court reversed the convictions of the six other accused who assisted Mohd Arif. The court reversed the life sentences of both Nazir Ahmed Qasi and Farooq Ahmed Qasid. Mohd Arif’s wife Rehmana Yusuf was given a seven-year sentence. The other three assailants, Babar Mohsin Baghwala, Sadakat Ali, and Matloob Alam were also sentenced to seven years in prison for sheltering Arif and providing him with fake Indian identity cards. [7]
See also
Notes
(http://www.thehindu.com/2000/12/27/stories/01270001.htm)
- ↑ "2000 Red Fort terrorist attack". The Times of India. Dec 3, 2007. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
- ↑ "Red Fort terrorist attacks". Retrieved 4 Aug 2012.
- ↑ "Red Fort attack will not affect peace moves". 2012-08-19.
- ↑ http://www.nia.gov.in/acts/Mohd%20Arif-Red%20Fort%20Attack.pdf
- ↑ http://www.nia.gov.in/acts/Mohd%20Arif-Red%20Fort%20Attack.pdf
- ↑ http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/newdelhi/red-fort-attack-case-chronology/article1-247672.aspx
- ↑ http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/red-fort-attack-case-supreme-court-stays-death-penalty-of-let-terrorist/articleshow/34325195.cms