15 SIMI terrorists sentenced to three-year imprisonment

Around 15 terrorists affiliated to Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) were sentenced to three years of jail and a fine of Rs. 1000 was imposed on each for raising anti-India slogans within the court premises in Bhopal.

Chief Justice Magistrate Rakesh Kumar pronounced the verdict. The accused have been charged under the section 295 A (deliberate and malicious acts indented to outrage religious feelings and 153 B ((imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration) of the Indian Penal Code.

A total of 18 SIMI terrorists were arrested, out of which three accused, named Akhil, Khalid and Abdul Masjid, were killed in an encounter while attempting to break jail.

The SIMI is a banned Islamist organisation that was formed in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, in April 1977.

The government banned the organisation in 2001, shortly after the 9/11 attacks. The ban was lifted in August 2008 by a special tribunal, but was reinstated by K.G. Balakrishnan, then Chief Justice, on August 2008 on security grounds.