New Delhi: NIA Special Court convicted life imprisonment for Kashmiri separatist Yasin Malik for terror funding on Wednesday. The Special Court awarded two life sentences and five punishments of 10 years of rigorous imprisonment in each case.

All sentences are to run concurrently. A monetary penalty of over ₹ 10 lakh has also been levied, lawyer Umesh Sharma said. NIA pleaded the maximum punishment, the death penalty, while the defence pleaded for life imprisonment. Yasin Malik now has the option to appeal the sentencing in the High Court. Malik had earlier pleaded guilty to all the charges including those under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in a terror funding case. A special NIA court in Delhi pronounced its verdict on the quantum of punishment in the case.

Parts of Srinagar witnessed a shutdown on Wednesday in anticipation of the verdict. Shops and other business establishments were shut in some parts of the city. However, the public transport and private vehicles were operating normally. Stone pelting and protest demonstrations were reported from a few places and the police had to resort to firing tear gas shells. Security officials have been deployed in the sensitive areas of Srinagar to avoid any law and order situation, officials said.

The Court had earlier said that Malik had set up an elaborate structure and mechanism across the world to raise funds for carrying out terrorist and other unlawful activities in Jammu and Kashmir in the name of the freedom struggle. NIA Special judge Praveen Singh had on May 19 convicted Yasin Malik and had directed NIA authorities to assess his financial situation to determine the amount of fine likely to be imposed.