37 convicted in Imam Ali escape case

Madurai, Jan 10 (UNI) All the 37 accused in the sensational Imam Ali escape case were convicted and sentenced by a trial court here today.

Pronouncing the judgment, District and Fast Track Court III Judge G Savithri said all the accused were found guilty and the court sentenced them to rigorous imprisonment, ranging from five to seven years. The judge also slapped a fine of Rs 3000 on each of them.

While seven of the accused were awarded seven years RI, it was five years for the rest, including Chappal Shop Syed.

All those awarded five years imprisonment had almost completed their term as they were behind the bars since their arrest.

Incidentally, a petition on behalf of Hyder Ali was filed earlier along with a certificate from the Institute of Mental Health at Kilpauk, Chennai, stating that he had turned insane.

However, the judge dismissed the petition.

The case pertains to the escape of Imam Ali and Hyder Ali from Thirumangalam police station on March seven 2002 after their associates attacked the station with bomb and guns.

Following the duo's escape, a case was registered and 42 people were arraigned.

Later, the case was handed over to the Special Investigation Team (SIT).

In the due course of the trail, Imam Ali and three others were killed in a shoot-out at their Bangalore hideout on September 28, 2002.

One of the accused, Sikkander Badhsa of Thottappanayakkanur, is still at large.

While 19 of the accused were released on bail, 18 others continued to be in jail and of them four were lodged in Salem, Trichy and Palayamkottai Central prisons following a clash between inmates at the Madurai prison.

Of the 252 witnesses, 190, including five from the defence side, had deposed. The SIT had produced 215 documents and 105 articles as evidence.

UNI