1999 Mubarakpur communal killing case: 12 sentenced to life after 27-year trial

AZAMGARH: A local court has sentenced 12 people to life imprisonment in a 27-year-old murder case linked to Shia-Sunni riots in Mubarakpur, officials said on Wednesday. District and Sessions Judge Jai Prakash Pandey pronounced the sentence on Tuesday after concluding the hearing. The court had convicted all 12 accused on February 13. Each convict was also fined Rs 66,500. According to the prosecution, complainant Nasir Hussain filed an FIR at Mubarakpur police station on April 30, 1999, stating that his uncle, Ali Akbar, a resident of Pura Khwaja, had been missing since April 27, 1999. Akbar’s son, Jaigam, had earlier reported his disappearance on April 28. Ali Akbar’s beheaded body was recovered from Raja Bhat’s pond on April 30, 1999. The investigation revealed that he was allegedly assaulted and killed by members of the Sunni community while returning from a Muharram procession. Police filed a chargesheet against multiple accused from Dulhanpura, Purasofi and Hyderabad. During the trial, four of the accused — Haji Mohammad Suleman, Najibullah, Hamidullah alias Jheenak and Haji Abdul Khaliq — died. On behalf of the prosecution, District Government Counsel (Criminal) Priyadarshi Piyush Tripathi and Additional District Government Counsel Deepak Kumar Mishra examined nine witnesses. After hearing arguments from both sides, the court sentenced Hussain Ahmad, Mohammad Ayub Faizi, Faheem Akhtar, Asrar Ahmad, Mohammad Yaqub, Ali Zaheer, Irshad, Mohammad Asad, Afzal, Alauddin, Dilshad and Wasim to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹66,500 on each, Tripathi said.