A Delhi court has given life sentence to Kashmiri separatist Asiya Andrabi in a case filed under the stringent anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act or UAPA. The chief of Dukhataran-e-Millat was facing charges of waging war and conspiracy against the country.
Andrabi, who founded the all-women separatist group Dukhtaraan-e-Millat (DeM) in 1987, was arrested by the National Investigation Agency in April 2018. The group was subsequently banned.
Andrabi and her associates Sofi Fehmeeda and Nahida Nasreen were convicted in January.
The NIA said the women, who are well educated, have been part of a deep-rooted conspiracy to wage war against the government. They weren't just involved in the conspiracy but were the main perpetrators, the NIA argued. They used the Dukhtaran-e-Millat to incite insurrection and seek Jammu and Kashmir's secession from India.
The NIA said Andrabi has a long criminal history, with 33 police cases registered against her across Jammu and Kashmir. Her associates Fehmeeda and Nasreen are involved in nine and five cases respectively.
All three had conspired with Pakistan-based entities and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed, the agency said.
Andrabi and her associates were convicted under UAPA Sections 20 (punishment for being a member of a terrorist gang or organisation), 38 (offence relating to membership of a terrorist organisation) and 39 (supporting a terrorist organisation).
The court also convicted them under IPC sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups), 153B (imputations prejudicial to national integration), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) and 121A (conspiracy to commit offences against the State).
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