A Delhi court on Thursday sentenced five Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) militants to life imprisonment for indulging in terrorist activities and waging war against the country. Terming them as merchants of death and destruction, Additional Session Judge R K Gauba also imposed a fine of 50,000 rupees on each of them. The court had convicted them on 3rd of January. The convicts Noor Mohammad Tantre, Pervaiz Ahmed Mir, Faroz Ahmed Bhat and brothers Atiq-uz-Zama and Raees-uz-Zama, were arrested by Delhi police in August 2003 after an encounter near Nizamuddin bridge. The court said, these foot soldiers of forces inimical to India and bent upon sabotaging the peace and tranquillity, besides posing a serious threat to country's unity, sovereignty and integrity, have to be neutralised. The court also referred to different terrorist attacks in the country, including the 26/11 Mumbai terror strikes, to say that Pakistan has been responsible in abetting the scourge in India. Justice Gauba said, Pakistan's imprint is writ large in the evidence adduced against the five convicts as each of them have revealed his respective connections with the terrorist elements rooted in that country. They were convicted under various sections of Indian Penal Code relating to waging war against the country and under the Explosives Substance Act for possessing hugequantity of arms and ammunition, including grenade-launchers.