HC asks police to explain motive in Red Fort attack

New Delhi, Feb 21 (UNI) The Delhi High Court asked the police today to explain the motive of LeT militants in attack on Red Fort on 22 December 2002.

Hearing the arguments of the state counsel Mukta Gupta pressing for death sentence for prime accused Ashfaq convicted and unwanted death sentence, a Division bench, headed by justices R S Sodhi and P K Bhasin, enquired as to how and why Red Fort had been chosen as an object of attack by the militants led by Ashfaq.

The militants could have chosen to attack any other place. Choice of a specific target must have been deliberated over, observed the judges.

The court also sought to know from the police as to how the prime accused Ashfaq could face death sentence for causing deaths when he was not present at the place of occurrence, a fact admitted by the police.

Besides, the police owes an explanation as to how and when the meeting of minds took place, the judges asked.

Ashfaq a member of Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Toiba Alias Arif, his Indian-origin wife Rehmana Yusuf Farooqui, Babar Mohsin, Sadaquat Ali and Matloob Alam have been convisted in the Red Fort attack case. Three Army personnel were killed in the incident.

UNI