HC upholds life sentence of LeT ultra

The High Court has upheld the trial court order, sentencing Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) member Imran Jalal alias Bilal to life imprisonment, over the conspiracy to attack important government and private establishments in the city like Vidhana Soudha, HAL, Wipro, ITPL and Infosys.

A division bench of Justice Ravi Malimath and Justice H P Sandesh was hearing a writ appeal filed by accused Jalal, challenging the trial court order.

The court observed that the accused involved in unlawful terrorist activities was a member of a banned terrorist organisation till the incident and possessed hand grenades, in contravention of the Arms Act. He unauthorisedly possessed an AK-47 rifle, the court said.

Jalal, a resident of Hosapete in Ballari district and a native of Jammu & Kashmir, was travelling in a private bus on January 5, 2007, from Hosapete to Bengaluru.

A Central Crime Branch team headed by the then DCP (crime) B R Ravikanthegowda and ACP K N Jithendranath had arrested him.

After investigation, the police filed a charge sheet against him before the additional city civil and sessions judge. The court had sentenced Jalal to life imprisonment on October 4, 2016.