Thursday, December 15 2005 14:51 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: A US court has tossed out terrorism charge against an Indian accused of a seven-hour university shooting rampage in 2003, but retained 201 other charges against him, including aggravated murder. Biswanath Halder's attack against a 'small, random' group of people in Case Western Reserve University's business school building did not constitute a terrorist attack on the civil population as defined by Ohio law, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Peggy Foley ruled yesterday.

If convicted of the aggravated murder charge, 65-year-old Halder, who hails from Calcutta, could get death penalty.

One person was killed and two wounded in the seven-hour-long shooting spree at University on May 9, 2003.

The prosecution made the argument that the 65-year-old Halder went to the University's Business School with more than 1000 rounds of ammunition because he thought that a computer lab employee had hacked into his website which was set up to help people from India form businesses.

According to the prosecution, Halder had the intention of intimidating people 'into submission'.

But John Luskin, Halder's attorney argued that the Ohio law on terrorism enacted in 2002 did not apply to this case because his client "did not intend to terrorise the civilian population," defined in legal precedent as a group of people distinct from the military.

The Halder trial came to a close on Tuesday with the prosecution calling as many as 108 witnesses to the stand over a three-week period.