Lucknow: A city NIA/ATS court on Thursday sentenced three members of banned CPI (Maoist) to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for conspiring to wage war against the State and attempting to spread terror through organised activities across Uttar Pradesh.The court also slapped a fine of Rs 29,000 each on the trio — Shivraj Singh Bagdawal and Rajendra Kumar alias Arvind of Almora; and Kripashankar alias Manoj of Kushinagar.Special judge Jainendra Kumar Pandey found the three men guilty under IPC and UAPA. The court ordered that in case of non-payment of fines, the convicts will have to undergo additional imprisonment ranging from two to six months, depending on the specific offence. The period already spent in custody will be set off against their sentences. The court directed the convicts to be lodged in Lucknow district jail.Special public prosecutor M K Singh said the Maoist operatives were arrested on Oct 8, 2010, by a special task force from Kidwai Nagar in Kanpur. Investigators recovered a substantial quantity of Maoist literature, including pamphlets, CDs, cassettes and magazines, which the accused were allegedly distributing among sympathisers to propagate their ideology.An FIR was registered, and ATS filed a chargesheet after carrying out an investigation, said Singh.
