11 acquitted in Jaipur blasts case

A Fast Track Sessions Court here on Friday acquitted 11 of the 14 persons arrested from Kota, Baran and Jodhpur in the aftermath of the May 2008 Jaipur serial blasts. The court did not find any evidence that could connect the accused with the alleged crime.
The Anti-Terrorism Squad of Rajasthan police had claimed that all the accused, who it said were members of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), were extending support for building a terror network in the State and had attended "terror camps" organised in the Kota region prior to the Jaipur blasts.
Additional Sessions Judge (Fast Track) No. 1, Jaipur City, Nepal Singh, observed in his judgment, exonerating the 11 persons from all charges, that the prosecution had failed to establish their link with SIMI and could not prove that they were involved in any kind of radical or terrorist activities or were promoting hatred and enmity between different communities.
The acquitted persons, most of whom were denied bail even as they were pleading their innocence ever since their arrest, were charged under various Sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, and Sections 153-A (promoting enmity on ground of religion), 295-A (act intended to outrage religious feelings of any class) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of Indian Penal Code.
Those who faced the three-year-long trial are an elderly physician, Ishaq Qureshi, his son Taufeeq who is a Unani medicine student, Nazakat Hussain, Amanullah, Mohammed Yunus, Nadim Akhtar, Munawwar Hussain - who are all from Kota, Mohammed Ilyas from Baran and Mohammed Sohail and Azam from Jodhpur. Inamur Rehman was later added to the list of the accused.
Mahdi Hassan, Imran and Atiqur Rehman - all three from Kota - are lodged in Sabarmati Central Jail in Gujarat while facing charges in connection with the Ahmedabad bombings. The trial in the main case of Jaipur blasts, in which two of the accused are incarcerated here, has been shifted to a special court constituted for the purpose.
The court declared hostile most of the 48 witnesses produced by the ATS to press its charges against the accused. Witnesses who were mostly kiosk owners, labourers and daily wage earners, retracted their statements given earlier to the ATS and said in the court that the police officers had put pressure on them to make the testimony to suit the prosecution.
Three persons were set free on bail during the course of trial. After the acquittal orders, the formalities were underway in the Central Jail here late on Friday evening for release of the persons who spent over three years behind bars.
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
THE HIDU 10TH DEC 2011