Special court rejects bail of undertrial acquitted in Ahmedabad terror case
Mohammed Zakir Abdul Haque Shaikh was arrested in 2008 by the Mumbai police crime branch and has been behind bars since.
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The prosecution opposed his plea stating that his previous bail applications were rejected even by the Supreme Court.NEARLY 14 years since his arrest in an alleged terror email case, the bail plea of an undertrial was rejected by a special court that observed that his acquittal from a terror case in Ahmedabad six months ago does not entitle him to bail in the present case.
Mohammed Zakir Abdul Haque Shaikh was arrested in 2008 by the Mumbai police crime branch and has been behind bars since. The case relates to emails sent to TV channels on August 23, 2008, where it was stated that terrorist organisation Indian Mujahideen was taking responsibility of the serial blasts in Ahmedabad in July 2008. It was alleged that the emails were sent by misusing the IP address of a college in Mumbai. The police also claimed to have recovered arms and other incriminating articles from the accused.
In February, a court in Ahmedabad convicted 49 persons and acquitted 28 for the serial blasts. Shaikh was among the three acquitted in the Ahmedabad case. Shaikh filed a bail application through his lawyer Tahera Qureshi on the ground that he was acquitted in the Ahmedabad case, which showed that he was not involved in the terror conspiracy.
It was also submitted that two co-accused were granted bail and that he had spent a long time in incarceration.
The prosecution opposed his plea stating that his previous bail applications were rejected even by the Supreme Court. It was
submitted that the allegations against him were that he had gone to Pakistan for training and was sent to Ahmedabad by a co-accused.
Lawyer Qureshi submitted that the confessional statements of co-accused, which were retracted at the “first-available opportunity”, were the only “proof” against him.
“It is alleged that applicant had obtained training from Pakistan. He was sent to Ahmedabad for commission of crime. The name of the applicant is appearing in the confessional statement of three co-accused persons… The applicant is not entitled to be released on bail on the ground that the applicant is acquitted in Gujarat bomb blast case,” special judge Rajesh Katariya said in his order passed last week.
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