The prosecution in the case against 21 alleged Indian Mujahideen,arrested by the Crime Branch in 2008 but now in jail in Gujarat,will urge the Maharashtra government to intervene and take steps towards bringing them back. The Gujarat government has passed an order against allowing the accused to exit the state until the trial there is over. Special public prosecutor Raja Thackeray said,The accused were arrested here and preference has to be given to this special case. The preference to the Gujarat court is not correct and I will seek that the accused are brought here for this trial to begin as it is under MCOCA. The next hearing is on February 15,when I will inform the MCOCA court about the development and later request the government to take necessary steps to lift the Gujarat ban, he said. The 21 were first arrested by the Mumbai Police for allegedly sending emails to media houses before the serial blasts in Gujarat and New Delhi,owning responsibility. After they were remanded to judicial custody,other states sought their custody and they were transferred to places like Delhi,Hyderabad,Gujarat and Bangalore. A Crime Branch official said,The MCOCA court is the first court as they were arrested here and they were sent to other states on transit remand At least 10 of the accused are lodged at the Sabarmati prison. They include Mansoor Peerbhoy,the alleged media head of the terror group who sent warning emails to media houses.
