The special Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) court on Monday granted bail to Saquib Nachan,key accused in the 2003 Mulund blast case,eight years after his arrest. Nachan had moved a bail application in the designated court on the ground that he has been in custody since 2003 and trial in the case has not yet been commenced. Nachan is the seventh accused to be granted bail in the case. The accused have been languishing in jail for over seven years now. We contested in the court that they have been in pre-trial detention and therefore they should be granted bail, said defence advocate Mubin solkar. However,Nachan,who does not have any other case pending against him would not be out immediately as the court has stayed its order to enable the prosecution to go on appeal to the Bombay High Court. In a combined chargesheet filed against 16 accused in the Mulund,Vile Parle and Mumbai Central blast cases police had charged them with offences under POTA,the Explosive Substances Act and preparation to wage war against the nation and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code. The Mulund blast occurred on March 13,2003,killing 12 persons and injuring 71. Earlier,on December 6,2002,several persons were injured in the blast at McDonalds at Mumbai Central station,while a person died when a bomb attached to a cycle exploded in a market area in Vile Parle (East) on January 27,2003.
