Nineteen years after the 2006 Mumbai train blasts claimed 189 lives and left over 800 people injured, the Bombay High Court today acquitted all 12 people convicted by a lower court in the serial bombing case. In 2015, a trial court had convicted these 12 accused, sentencing five of them to death and the others to life imprisonment.
Setting aside the trial court order, the high court bench of Justice Anil Kilor and Justice Shyam Chandak said the prosecution had “utterly failed” to prove the case against the accused.
“The prosecution has utterly failed to prove the case against the accused. It is hard to believe that the accused committed the crime. Hence, their conviction is quashed and set aside,” the bench said. The court said the accused shall be released from jail if they are not wanted in any other case.
The bench noted that the convicts were given the “benefit of doubt” due to the prosecution’s failure to prove the charges. The court questioned witness statements. It noted that 100 days after the blasts, it is not possible for a person to remember a suspect.
The court also said that the explosives, arms and maps recovered during the investigation appeared to be unrelated to the blasts. The prosecution, it said, could not even prove what kind of bombs were used in the blasts.
On July 11, 2006, seven bomb blasts had ripped through separate Mumbai local trains within 11 minutes. Rigged pressure cookers were used for the bombings to amplify the damage caused. The first occurred at 6.24 pm — rush hour due to people returning from work — and the last at 6.35 pm. The bombs were placed in first-class compartments of trains from Churchgate. They exploded near the stations of Matunga Road, Mahim Junction, Bandra, Khar Road, Jogeshwari, Bhayandar and Borivali.
A trial court in 2015 convicted 12 people in the blasts case. The special court of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act sentenced Faisal Sheikh, Asif Khan, Kamal Ansari, Ehtesham Sidduqui and Naveed Khan to death. Seven other convicts Mohammed Sajid Ansari, Mohammed Ali, Dr Tanveer Ansari, Majid Shafi, Muzzammil Shaikh, Sohail Shaikh and Zamir Shaikh were sentenced to life imprisonment for being part of the conspiracy. All the 12 convicts will now walk free after the high court’s ruling today. NDTV
