Court jails Kashmir cop for terror link

NEW DELHI - A city court Monday sentenced a former Jammu and Kashmir police constable to eight years in jail and slapped a fine of Rs.50,000 on him for being a member of the banned terror organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

Additional sessions judge (ASJ) Dharmesh Sharma held Mushtaq Ahmed Wani, 30, guilty of various offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Wani was posted as guard at the residence of Fazal Hussain Beigh, brother of former finance minister of Jammu and Kashmir Muzaffar Hussain Beigh, before his arrest in Delhi Nov 25, 2006 by the Delhi Police.

The prosecution told the court that Wani, who hails from Kashmir’s Baramulla district, was taken into custody from a place near Red Fort in New Delhi along with Rs.6 lakh. The money allegedly belonged to hawala (money laundering) channel.

It also claimed that Wani had come to the city to collect a consignment of arms, ammunition and hawala money which were to be used for terror activities in Kashmir.

Wani came in contact with Pakistan-based handler Mohammad Ahmed, a deputy commander of LeT, in September 2006 and started working for him, the prosecution said.