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Four Al-Umma men get life term

By S. Vijay Kumar

The four Al-Umma men, who were sentenced to life imprisonment in the assistant jailer Jayaprakash murder case, coming out of the Madurai district court after judgment was pronounced on Friday. - Photo: K. Ganesan

MADURAI MAY 2 . Four persons accused of the murder of assistant jailer S. Jayaprakash (44) in Madurai on August 29, 1997 were today sentenced to life imprisonment by a Madurai court.

The Second fast track court judge, V. Venkatasamy, held the accused guilty on four counts, including criminal conspiracy, wrongful restraint and murder, before pronouncing the judgment in the heavily-guarded court hall.

According to the prosecution, I. Abu Dahir (24), S. Ashique (26), S.A. Jabru alias Syed Jabir Ahmed (29) and `Tada' Aslam (26) assaulted Jayaprakash with deadly weapons in front of the Madurai central prison, killing him on the spot. Raja alias `Tailor' Raja (24), who is also an accused, is still at large.

The assailants targeted Jayaprakash for his acting "tough" with one of the fundamentalists, Sahul Hameed, lodged in the prison. Sleuths of the CB-CID seized some handwritten letters, which proved the involvement of the accused in the case.

According to the investigation officers, all the accused belonged to the banned Al-Umma. The accused, who were also involved in a bomb blast case, were arrested nearly a year after the murder. The judge examined 22 witnesses, besides material and documentary evidence.

All the four were found guilty "beyond reasonable doubt" and awarded life imprisonment under Section 302 IPC. They were also sentenced to undergo varying terms under Sections 120 (B), 148 and 341 IPC. However the sentences would run concurrently.

`Falsely implicated'

Pleading innocence in the court, the Al-Umma activists claimed that they were "falsely implicated" in the murder. "As per law there is no evidence to prove our involvement and this conviction is only to satisfy someone. This is unjust," alleged `Tada' Aslam.

Later, speaking to presspersons on the court premises, he said Muslims were being suppressed in the AIADMK regime. More than 300 "innocent" prisoners (Muslims) were languishing in eight jails without trial.

"The Government has not appointed a judge to try the Coimbatore serial bomb blasts case," he said.

Referring to capital punishment awarded in the constable Selvaraj murder case, which was subsequently set aside by the Madras High Court, Aslam said the accused had already served five years in prison when they were acquitted.

Earlier, the accused in the Jayaprakash murder case were brought amid tight security from Coimbatore and lodged in the Madurai central prison soon after the judgment was pronounced.

The western entry of the court was sealed and taken over by heavily armed police personnel as a precautionary measure.

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