Blast accused hoping to secure bail

MALEGAON EXPLOSIONS CASE

Mateen Hafeez I TNN

Malegaon: The families of the 2006 Malegaon serial blasts accused are hoping that they will be granted bail by the court on December 10, when the case comes up for hearing. Nine alleged members of the banned outfit, SIMI, all from Malegaon, are behind bars for the last three years.

Four bombs rocked the textile town on September 8, 2006, killing 31 people and injuring 297. The anti-terrorism squad (ATS), which began the investigation, arrested nine persons allegedly belonging to SIMI. However, due to dissatisfaction among the locals over the ATS probe, the state government transferred the case to the CBI in December 2006. The suspects then filed a petition in the apex court, pleading that they were not habitual offenders and that the application of the stringent law, Maharashta Control of O r g a n - i s e d Crime Act (MCOCA) w a s wrong in their case. The approvers in the September 8, 2006, blast have turned hostile and stated that they had given statements under duress.

A division bench justice Amjad Sayyed and J N Patel will hear the case on December 10 when the CBI will state what they have found in their probe so far. “The court asked the CBI why the accused should not be granted bail,’’ said advocate Irfana Hamdani, who is on a panel of lawyers for the SIMI suspects.
The same bench will also hear the state government’s application refusing a special court’s order to drop MCOCA charges from the 2008 Malegaon blast case. Interestingly, senior advocate Ashok Mundargi is representing the accused in the 2008 blast case, but is a special prosecutor in the 2006 blast case.

The Times of India, December 9, 2009