After 8 yrs in jail, Pak national free

Having spent eight years and four months behind the bars over charges of procuring classified documents from the Ammunition Factory, Khadki, and smuggling them to ISI, Pakistani national Sayeed Ahmed Mohammed Desai, 48, will walk free after being sentenced to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment by a district court here on Thursday.

Desai, who had been arrested by Sahakar Nagar police on June 14, 1999, had pleaded guilty to all charges on Wednesday. Chief Judicial Magistrate Y Chawre sentenced Desai to seven years each under section 3 [1 (C)] of the Official Secrets Act and IPC section 120 B pertaining to criminal conspiracy, besides three years of RI each under Section 14 of the Foreigners Registration Act and Section 12-b of the Passport Act, to be served concurrently. The court further imposed fines of Rs 30,000 and Rs 20,000 failing to pay which he will be liable to undergo an additional term of two-and-a-half years.

Responding to pleas by Desai’s lawyer, the judge clarified Desai would have to undergo imprisonment only in event of his failure to pay the fines. Chawre further directed the city police to fulfil the necessary procedure to send Desai back to his country.