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Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Judicial lens focused on ATS methods & conclusions in other cases too
Mumbai: The 11/7 train blasts case is not the first time the Anti-Terrorism Squad's (ATS) methods and conclusions have faced judicial scrutiny. In 2016, a special National Investigation Agency ( NIA ) court discharged eight Muslim men who were labelled "terror accused" by ATS in the 2006 Malegaon serial blasts case. The presiding judge stated that these individuals, due to prior criminal records, were made scapegoats by ATS. The credibility of ATS investigations faces another significant test next week with the impending verdict in the 2008 Malegaon blast case; that blast killed 6 people and injured 100. In this instance, ATS named and arrested a dozen individuals. But NIA in its own investigation in 2016 provided a clean chit to six accused, including ex-BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur. Despite NIA's findings, the ATS' original investigation largely prevailed, with the NIA court ruling Thakur would indeed stand trial. However, the judge dropped charges invoked under MCOCA, charges initially applied by ATS but later revoked by NIA in its 2016 chargesheet. The NIA informed court that during its investigation, "it was established that no offence under MCOCA was attracted and hence the confessional statements recorded by ATS under the Act were not relied upon. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 15 most beautiful women in the world Undo " Notably, NIA in its 2016 chargesheet accused ATS of planting RDX traces to frame accused Lt Col Prasad Purohit. While NIA let off Thakur and five others, citing insufficient evidence, the judge refused to grant Thakur's plea for discharge. During the trial over 30 witnesses turned hostile. You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai The history of probe into the 2006 Malegaon blasts further illustrates the pattern of judicial intervention. On Sept 8, 2006, 31 people died and 312 were injured in four blasts in Malegaon. The ATS arrested nine Muslim men, alleging they belonged to SIMI. In Dec 2006, ATS filed a 4,500-page chargesheet. However, the case was handed over to CBI the same day following complaints from Malegaon residents that the nine were framed. In 2011, the case was transferred to NIA after the CBI team indicated the role of right-wing outfits, a suspicion reinforced when Swami Aseemanand, an accused in the Mecca Masjid blast, confessed a right-wing group was involved. On Nov 5, 2011, the special MCOCA court granted bail to the nine accused. While seven were released on bail, two remained in jail due to their alleged role in the 11/7 blasts. In 2016, eight accused were discharged, and charges against one who died in 2015 were abated. Proceedings continued against four other accused, against whom NIA filed a chargesheet in 2013. In the discharge order, special judge VV Patil stated that while ATS officers who conducted the probe had no animosity with the accused, "in my view, as they discharged their public duty but in a wrong way, they may not be blamed for it." The judge expressed doubt that "it seemed highly impossible that the accused who are from the Muslim community would have decided to kill their own people to create disharmony in two communities, that too on a holy day of Shab-e-baraat. " The judge further referenced NIA findings, which revealed that an ATS witness, who previously claimed to have witnessed bomb preparation, retracted his statement, asserting it was taken under duress. Additionally, NIA found all confessional statements recorded by ATS were retracted as they were taken under "pressure and duress." Mohammed Majid, whom ATS identified as one of the planters, told NIA that on the day of the blasts he was 400 km away at Fulsawangi, Yavatmal. The order came 10 days after NIA, unlike its previous stance, strongly objected to the discharge pleas. Dubbing it as an "ulta face," the judge said, "At the time of first hearing of the matter, the prosecution has canvassed they have nothing to say except the reply filed by NIA upon the discharge applications," the judge said. During its reply to the discharge plea in Aug 2013, NIA did not oppose the pleas and instead said its evidence "was not in consonance with evidence collected earlier by ATS and CBI," which recommended prosecution of the nine accused. Judicial lens focused on ATS methods & conclusions in other cases too Mumbai: The 11/7 train blasts case is not the first time the Anti-Terrorism Squad's (ATS) methods and conclusions have faced judicial scrutiny. In 2016, a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court discharged eight Muslim men who were labelled "terror accused" by ATS in the 2006 Malegaon serial blasts case. The presiding judge stated that these individuals, due to prior criminal records, were made scapegoats by ATS. The credibility of ATS investigations faces another significant test next week with the impending verdict in the 2008 Malegaon blast case; that blast killed 6 people and injured 100. In this instance, ATS named and arrested a dozen individuals. But NIA in its own investigation in 2016 provided a clean chit to six accused, including ex-BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur. Despite NIA's findings, the ATS' original investigation largely prevailed, with the NIA court ruling Thakur would indeed stand trial. However, the judge dropped charges invoked under MCOCA, charges initially applied by ATS but later revoked by NIA in its 2016 chargesheet. The NIA informed court that during its investigation, "it was established that no offence under MCOCA was attracted and hence the confessional statements recorded by ATS under the Act were not relied upon. " Notably, NIA in its 2016 chargesheet accused ATS of planting RDX traces to frame accused Lt Col Prasad Purohit. While NIA let off Thakur and five others, citing insufficient evidence, the judge refused to grant Thakur's plea for discharge. During the trial over 30 witnesses turned hostile. The history of probe into the 2006 Malegaon blasts further illustrates the pattern of judicial intervention. On Sept 8, 2006, 31 people died and 312 were injured in four blasts in Malegaon. The ATS arrested nine Muslim men, alleging they belonged to SIMI. In Dec 2006, ATS filed a 4,500-page chargesheet. However, the case was handed over to CBI the same day following complaints from Malegaon residents that the nine were framed. In 2011, the case was transferred to NIA after the CBI team indicated the role of right-wing outfits, a suspicion reinforced when Swami Aseemanand, an accused in the Mecca Masjid blast, confessed a right-wing group was involved. On Nov 5, 2011, the special MCOCA court granted bail to the nine accused. While seven were released on bail, two remained in jail due to their alleged role in the 11/7 blasts. In 2016, eight accused were discharged, and charges against one who died in 2015 were abated. Proceedings continued against four other accused, against whom NIA filed a chargesheet in 2013. In the discharge order, special judge VV Patil stated that while ATS officers who conducted the probe had no animosity with the accused, "in my view, as they discharged their public duty but in a wrong way, they may not be blamed for it." The judge expressed doubt that "it seemed highly impossible that the accused who are from the Muslim community would have decided to kill their own people to create disharmony in two communities, that too on a holy day of Shab-e-baraat. " The judge further referenced NIA findings, which revealed that an ATS witness, who previously claimed to have witnessed bomb preparation, retracted his statement, asserting it was taken under duress. Additionally, NIA found all confessional statements recorded by ATS were retracted as they were taken under "pressure and duress." Mohammed Majid, whom ATS identified as one of the planters, told NIA that on the day of the blasts he was 400 km away at Fulsawangi, Yavatmal. The order came 10 days after NIA, unlike its previous stance, strongly objected to the discharge pleas. Dubbing it as an "ulta face," the judge said, "At the time of first hearing of the matter, the prosecution has canvassed they have nothing to say except the reply filed by NIA upon the discharge applications," the judge said. During its reply to the discharge plea in Aug 2013, NIA did not oppose the pleas and instead said its evidence "was not in consonance with evidence collected earlier by ATS and CBI," which recommended prosecution of the nine accused.
The Print
a day ago
- Politics
- The Print
HC acquittal verdict shocking, no witch hunt in probe: Ex-Mumbai top cop A N Roy on 7/11 case
Roy headed the city police force when the blasts occurred on July 11, 2006, while the probe in the terror attack was handled by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). He said the police only chargesheeted the people who had a 'core role' in the blasts, and said there was no 'witch hunt' involved. Mumbai, Jul 22 (PTI) Former Mumbai police commissioner A N Roy on Tuesday expressed shock over the the Bombay High Court's acquittal of all 12 accused in the 7/11 train blasts case, saying the probe in the case was conducted in a professional manner where evidence was collected 'honestly and truthfully'. More than 180 people were killed when seven blasts ripped through Mumbai local trains at various locations on the western line. Nineteen years later, the Bombay High Court on Monday acquitted all 12 accused, saying the prosecution utterly failed to prove the case and that it was 'hard to believe the accused committed the crime'. Talking to PTI, former Mumbai police chief Roy said, 'I am shocked to see the kind of judgment. But it is a judicial verdict, we accept it respectfully.' 'The relevant department, which is ATS, is studying the judgment. They will take legal opinion. I am sure they will file an appeal in the Supreme Court on that,' he said. The Supreme Court will hear the Maharashtra government's plea against the high court verdict on July 24. Roy reminded that the trial court had sided with the prosecution while giving the harshest sentences to the accused people and added that the apex court of the country will see merit in the case. 'We presented a very good, strong case to the court through the chargesheet,' Roy said, asserting that it was a professionally conducted, thorough investigation where evidence was collected 'honestly and truthfully'. Maintaining that he has not read the judgment delivered on Monday, he said the high court seems to be apprehensive on how witnesses could identify the accused after 100 days and questioned if there was any prescribed procedure that explicitly disallows such a practice. 'There are a number of cases on judicial records where the witnesses have identified the accused after 10 years in the court,' Roy said. Speaking about the delay in the trial, he said the trial went on for several years because the accused kept on moving applications across the legal system and also went up till the Supreme Court for seeking bail or some 'frivolous issues'. They also made allegations of torture, of getting beaten up and forced to confess which consumed time, Roy said, adding that none of these allegations were accepted in the court. Reminiscing about the investigation into the case, the former top cop said officers worked overnight to build the case, after which the trial began. According to the police, members of the proscribed Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and other brainwashed youth conspired to bomb the local trains, called as the lifeline of the financial capital, during the peak hour. Bombs assembled inside pressure cookers were put on first-class compartments of the trains. Investigators had claimed that the bombers had travelled with the bombs to south Mumbai's Churchgate after assembling them in distant suburbs, and alighted at railway stations before the timers went off. Roy said, 'We did not do any witch hunt. We only chargesheeted the people who had the core role in the blast.' 'I retired from the service 16 years ago, I was not closely monitoring the court hearings. But I was the police commissioner when the bomb blast happened. I was very closely supervising the investigation and I own up whatever was done in the investigation,' he said on the HC judgement. 'I have accorded the sanction for prosecution under the MCOC Act to all the accused. I stood in the court for 5 days to prove my sanction. Now, after completing the investigation very professionally, very thoroughly, after collecting all the evidence possible to collect, truthfully, honestly presented a very good, strong case to the court through the chargesheet,' he said. Roy said the court took a long time to pronounce the judgment because it was a very voluminous chargesheet, and added that the trial court judgment alone went into 2,000 pages. Every single person's evidence was mentioned there in detail. The evidence brought in by the prosecution side, the cross examination by all the 9 to 10 defence lawyers for every witness is all recorded in that 2,000-page judgement of the trial court, he said. 'All the eyewitnesses, all the witnesses who identified the accused, all the recoveries which were made, all other circumstantial evidence, all of that is mentioned in great detail in that 2,000 page judgement. The police officers who were investigated or played any other role during that – they were all examined and cross-examined,' he said. 'I withstood cross examination for 5 days, morning till evening,' the former police commissioner added. The judgement seems to mention only what the defence lawyers have argued in the high court and saying yes or no to that, Roy said, adding that he found it bizarre. 'We will have to wait for the next verdict. We have got from the trial court's full verdict in our favour. For whatever reason, if the high court has given a contradictory verdict, we accept that as well,' he said. 'We'll go and appeal to the higher court to wait for the final judgement to come. We are very confident that we have a very good case,' he said, adding that they will wait for the final judgement from the Supreme Court. PTI DC NP This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
How Mumbai police lost the plot on suburban rail blasts
The Mumbai suburban railway bombing, also known as the 7/11 blasts, took place on July 11, 2006. Unfortunately, it took place when we lacked an integrated approach to our intelligence coordination and terror crime investigation. The then Mumbai police commissioner told a security advisory group constituted by the Maharashtra government — of which I was a member — that he had never been given any indication in his meetings with the Intelligence Bureau at the highest level before the attack that the Mumbai suburban railway system was a target. In fact, it seemed that the central intelligence indicated that religious places would be targeted. The 7/11 attacks killed 189 passengers in different trains on the Western Railway in six minutes, compared to 26/11 attacks where the death toll during the 58-hour stand-off stood at 175. An American media report on July 21, 2006, said that the New York Police Department (NYPD) had sent an officer to Mumbai to study the 'simplicity and lethality' of 7/11 attacks, which 'were the equivalent of bombing seven commuter stations between Manhattan and Westchester'. NYPD wanted to understand how the Mumbai suburban attacks were executed with such precision. Post the Twin Tower attacks on September 11, 2001 (9/11), the March 11, 2004, attacks on the commuter railway system in Madrid, and the July 7 London tube bombings, the NYPD had augmented its security network. Therefore, the Mumbai bombings were of interest to it to see what gaps remained. The 7/11 attackers had carried bombs in backpacks common locally, hid these in overhead racks near the exits to enable them to exit the train quickly, and had used timing devices to cause the explosions within 11 minutes to cause the maximum panic, shock, and damage. In sharp contrast, the local investigation into this case was marked by total incompetence, lack of coordination, and confusion. In 2009, I had written in Routledge's annual publication, India's National Security-Annual Review, that the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which originally investigated this case, had charge-sheeted 13 people for 7/11, including four who had undergone training in Pakistan. However, in September 2008, the Mumbai City Crime Branch made a startling claim in a press conference, that they had found evidence of the involvement of Sadiq Shaikh, co-founder of Indian Mujahideen (IM), in these blasts. This claim was fundamentally challenged on May 11, 2009, when the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court discharged Shaikh, finding no evidence against him. Even earlier, the ATS and Mumbai crime branch had publicly differed on many points, with the latter claiming that the bombs for the blasts were assembled in a flat in Sewree and the RDX was procured by IM leader Riyaz Bhatkal even as ATS said that the bombs were assembled in Govandi and RDX was procured by a Pakistani terrorist, Ehsanullah, who had entered India illegally along with 10 accomplices. All this would not have happened had the then Union government set up a central anti-terror agency. Unfortunately, they waited until December 2008 to set up such an agency (the National Investigation Agency, or NIA), after the 26/11 attacks. In September 2015, a special MCOCA court sentenced 12 accused persons, awarding capital punishment to five and life imprisonment to seven for planting the bombs and killing passengers. It is this sentence that was set aside by the Bombay High Court on July 21, 2025 — all 12 convicted by the MCOCA court were acquitted. The special bench had heard the case for the last six months, including appeals by the State and by the convicts. However, an inkling on the course the case would eventually take was available in January this year, from the defence put up by S Muralidhar, former chief justice of the Odisha High Court and now senior advocate, who represented two accused sentenced to life imprisonment. This was reported only in legal journals and not in the mainstream media. Muralidhar had then highlighted the lapses in investigation, especially in obtaining confessional statements of the accused under a special provision of MCOCA, given that the officer who had recorded the confessional statement failed to identify the accused. Muralidhar had told the court: 'This is a very serious legal flaw of the trial court. Thus, this Court should now discard these statements'. He also said that the family and relatives of the accused were tortured physically, just like the accused persons. The HC acquittal on July 21 highlights several lapses like 'cut and paste' confessions made by all the accused persons, custodial torture before the confessions were recorded, and more particularly 'the lack of any reliable material submitted' to grant prior approval to invoke the stringent MCOCA, under which confessions are legally admissible. The Court found no material was provided to the competent authority 'except reproduction of some expressions used in the definition of organised crime'. The court said after examining two confessions recorded on two different dates: 'By any stretch of imagination, it is highly impossible to have the same questions and its sequence in both the statements with the same answers'. This is quite telling of how poorly the investigation was handled by the police, leaving the families of the victims of the blasts and the accused and their families struggling for justice. Law enforcement agencies have a lot to answer. Vappala Balachandran is a former special secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, and was part of the two-member High Level Committee that enquired into the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. The views expressed are personal.
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Indian Express
7/11Mumbai train blast: Pune's Suhail Shaikh acquitted by HC: we had lost hope, but he did not, says family
Family members of Pune based Suhail Mehmood Shaikh (55), who was acquitted by the Bombay High Court in the 7/11 Mumbai train blasts on Monday, said they have finally got 'justice'. After the HC verdict, Suhail's younger brother Rahil Shaikh, was in tears. 'I cannot tell you how happy we are. We as a family had lost all hope. But Suhail bhai had not lost hope. He used to say he had faith in the judiciary of India. We have finally got justice,' Rahil told The Indian Express. A metal fabrication worker, Rahil said his brother Suhail has been in Amravati central prison. 'I spoke with him over the phone after the judgement today. He was so happy and emotional at the same time. We are leaving for Amravati tonight. We used to talk to him via video conferencing calls and he was the one who used to tell us to have faith in the system,' he said. Rahil added he lost his parents after Suhail's arrest. 'They left this world waiting for Suhail to get justice,' he said. Rahil said Suhail's wife, three children (a daughter and a son, who are now married, as well as the youngest, a boy) are all eagerly waiting for him to return. 'They suffered a lot. The investigators had taken all their documents including the gas card. The family was publicly humiliated. Even our relatives abandoned us. But the truth has prevailed now,' he said. On the evening of July 11, 2006, seven bombs had exploded in local trains in Mumbai, killing 187 persons and leaving 817 injured. A probe into the terror attacks, termed as the '7/11' Mumbai train blasts, led to the arrest of 13 persons, including Suhail, who was picked up from his Pune residence on July 21. At the time, he worked as a rafoo artisan and tailor to earn a living. He had completed HSC from an English medium school in Pune Camp and also worked as a faith healer, said Rahil. In September 2015, a special court in Mumbai, convicted 12 accused persons, while one was acquitted. The court awarded the death penalty to five accused, while seven others including Suhail were sentenced to imprisonment for life. The Bombay HC Monday acquitted all the accused in this case. 'I am on my way to meet my father and bring him home after so many years,' said Suhail's son Syed Shaikh, who is employed in repairing and installing air conditioners in Pune. Investigators had claimed that the 7/11 train blast strike was allegedly masterminded by wanted accused Azam Chima alias Babaji, a Pakistani operative of terror outfit Lashkar e Taiba (LeT), who indoctrinated and trained SIMI operatives from India for the terror strikes. It was alleged that a wanted SIMI member, Mohammed Faizal Ataur Rehman Shaikh from Pune, had incited Suhail and gave him Rs 1 lakh to go to an LeT training camp. It had been alleged that Suhail was trained in handling arms, ammunition and explosives at an LeT terrorist camp at Muzaffarabad in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. Investigators had also alleged that Suhail went to Iran by obtaining a Ziyarat Visa and then infiltrated into Pakistan via clandestine methods and contacted LeT commander Chima. It was alleged that after returning from Pakistan, Suhail was asked to look after LeT's work and assignments in Pune. However, Suhail's family had claimed he went to Iran to set up a dry fruits business. Suhail had refuted the allegations. He had also submitted before the court that his confession statement was the outcome of torture inflicted on him. While acquitting him on Monday, the High Court observed that Suhail's confession statement 'is inadmissible as it appears to have been extorted by torture.' Three other suspects from Pune — Mohammed Raheel Shaikh of Kubera Garden, Kondhwa, Pune; Rizwan Mohammed Daware, a software professional, who had been resided at Premanand Park in Wanavdi and Sohail Usman Gani Shaikh of Gaffar Baig street in Pune Camp — who were named as wanted accused in the 7/11 Mumbai train blasts case are still on the run. Their names and photographs were also printed on the pocket calendar (for the year 2015) titled 'Wanted', which was prepared by the Pune unit of the state ATS.
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Indian Express
Pune's Suhail Shaikh acquitted by HC: we had lost hope, but he did not, says family
Family members of Pune based Suhail Mehmood Shaikh (55), who was acquitted by the Bombay High Court in the 7/11 Mumbai train blasts on Monday, said they have finally got 'justice'. After the HC verdict, Suhail's younger brother Rahil Shaikh, was in tears. 'I cannot tell you how happy we are. We as a family had lost all hope. But Suhail bhai had not lost hope. He used to say he had faith in the judiciary of India. We have finally got justice,' Rahil told The Indian Express. A metal fabrication worker, Rahil said his brother Suhail has been in Amravati central prison. 'I spoke with him over the phone after the judgement today. He was so happy and emotional at the same time. We are leaving for Amravati tonight. We used to talk to him via video conferencing calls and he was the one who used to tell us to have faith in the system,' he said. Rahil added he lost his parents after Suhail's arrest. 'They left this world waiting for Suhail to get justice,' he said. Rahil said Suhail's wife, three children (a daughter and a son, who are now married, as well as the youngest, a boy) are all eagerly waiting for him to return. 'They suffered a lot. The investigators had taken all their documents including the gas card. The family was publicly humiliated. Even our relatives abandoned us. But the truth has prevailed now,' he said. On the evening of July 11, 2006, seven bombs had exploded in local trains in Mumbai, killing 187 persons and leaving 817 injured. A probe into the terror attacks, termed as the '7/11' Mumbai train blasts, led to the arrest of 13 persons, including Suhail, who was picked up from his Pune residence on July 21. At the time, he worked as a rafoo artisan and tailor to earn a living. He had completed HSC from an English medium school in Pune Camp and also worked as a faith healer, said Rahil. In September 2015, a special court in Mumbai, convicted 12 accused persons, while one was acquitted. The court awarded the death penalty to five accused, while seven others including Suhail were sentenced to imprisonment for life. The Bombay HC Monday acquitted all the accused in this case. 'I am on my way to meet my father and bring him home after so many years,' said Suhail's son Syed Shaikh, who is employed in repairing and installing air conditioners in Pune. Investigators had claimed that the 7/11 train blast strike was allegedly masterminded by wanted accused Azam Chima alias Babaji, a Pakistani operative of terror outfit Lashkar e Taiba (LeT), who indoctrinated and trained SIMI operatives from India for the terror strikes. It was alleged that a wanted SIMI member, Mohammed Faizal Ataur Rehman Shaikh from Pune, had incited Suhail and gave him Rs 1 lakh to go to an LeT training camp. It had been alleged that Suhail was trained in handling arms, ammunition and explosives at an LeT terrorist camp at Muzaffarabad in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. Investigators had also alleged that Suhail went to Iran by obtaining a Ziyarat Visa and then infiltrated into Pakistan via clandestine methods and contacted LeT commander Chima. It was alleged that after returning from Pakistan, Suhail was asked to look after LeT's work and assignments in Pune. However, Suhail's family had claimed he went to Iran to set up a dry fruits business. Suhail had refuted the allegations. He had also submitted before the court that his confession statement was the outcome of torture inflicted on him. While acquitting him on Monday, the High Court observed that Suhail's confession statement 'is inadmissible as it appears to have been extorted by torture.' Three other suspects from Pune — Mohammed Raheel Shaikh of Kubera Garden, Kondhwa, Pune; Rizwan Mohammed Daware, a software professional, who had been resided at Premanand Park in Wanavdi and Sohail Usman Gani Shaikh of Gaffar Baig street in Pune Camp — who were named as wanted accused in the 7/11 Mumbai train blasts case are still on the run. Their names and photographs were also printed on the pocket calendar (for the year 2015) titled 'Wanted', which was prepared by the Pune unit of the state ATS.
