First punishment in Gujarat under Official Secrets Act; 3 get life term

Ahmedabad: A special court at the Sessions Court has handed down a life imprisonment sentence to three individuals, two from Jamalpur in Ahmedabad and one from Jodhpur in Rajasthan. The verdict comes after they were found guilty of sharing confidential information about the country’s army with Pakistan’s notorious spy agency, the ISI. The Ahmedabad District Crime Branch had arrested the three accused in 2012.

According to Public Prosecutor Bharat Patni, a total of 75 witnesses provided testimony. The case unveiled that both accused, Sirajuddin from Jamalpur and Naushad Ali from Rajasthan, separately traveled to Pakistan and had encounters with ISI agents Taimur and Tahir. It was also revealed that these individuals were earning money by sharing sensitive information about the Indian military with ISI agents. They received a sum of Rs 2 lakh from ISI, which included Rs 1.96 lakh through Western Union money transfer and Rs 6,000 through Moneygram.

An important observation was made by Judge A.R. Patel in the verdict, stating that the accused displayed affection towards Pakistan rather than their own country.

The accused have been sentenced to life imprisonment under Sections 121 and 120(b) of the IPC 1860, 10 years imprisonment under Section 123, 14 years imprisonment under Section 3 of the Official Secrets Act 1923, and Section 66 of the IT Act 2000. Additionally, they have been fined a total of 20,000, with each accused required to pay a fine of 5,000. Failure to pay the fine will result in an additional 6 months of simple imprisonment. DeshGujarat