A fast-track court today sentenced to death four Pakistani intruders who had sneaked into Kutch with a large quantity of RDX and a huge stock of ammunition in 1999.Additional sessions judge V.N. Chaudhary handed down the judgment in a case which is believed to be Gujarat’s first-ever trial of waging war against the nation. As many as 21 of the intruders’ alleged local contacts from Gujarat and two Mumbai-based contacts were found not guilty.The capital punishment, subject to confirmation by the Gujarat High Court, was awarded to Sachu Ibrahim, Osman Ali, Navaz Ali and Haji, all bearing the Jat surname.While pronouncing the judgment, Chaudhary said the prosecution had proved its case against four out of the seven Pakistanis who had ISI links. According to the prosecution, seven ISI agents had sneaked into Kutch and were later tracked down by BSF puggies (footprint readers). They were found carrying 24 kg RDX, 572 live cartridges, a huge quantity of time pencils, 55 hand grenades, foreign-made pistols, remote controls, high-frequency transmitter sets and fake currency notes.They were booked under Sections 120-B, 121, 121(A), 122, 124 of the IPC and 124(A) of the Indian Explosive Substances Act. The judge said the statements of the customs officials were not found tenable, therefore, the case against 23 Indians did not stand.‘‘We believe that there was a strong case against the Pakistanis and 23 Indians. So we will appeal against the acquittal of the Indians,’’ said prosecution counsel Ratnakar Dholakia.
