Blasts accused turns to textbooks in jail

STUDY TIME

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Ehtesham Siddiqui, arrested for allegedly planting a bomb in the first-class compartment of a local train in 2006, has taken to studying.
 

    Lodged at the Arthur Road jail, he has completed a threeyear degree course in tourism and certificate courses in Urdu and Arabic languages and human rights, said Shahid
Nadeem, a lawyer attached to the Jamiat-ul-Ulema, which is providing legal assistance to bomb blast accused. 

    Siddiqui, facing trial under the stringent Mahrashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), is also doing several distance courses, and the court has allowed him to attend Sunday classes at a suburban Mumbai college. He is escorted by a group of six policemen to the college every Sunday.
 

    Recently, he memorized the Quran in 10 months, Nadeem said.   “On his request, the Indra Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) started an exam centre in Arthur Road jail,” added Nadeem.
    Siddiqui was arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad on charges of conspiracy, participating in bombmaking, transporting bombs and planting them. He has told the court he has been framed. 

    “Before arrest, he would sell books. He reads a lot. Siddiqui was earlier lodged in the anda (high-security) cell), but he has now been shifted to another barrack. He is also helping other inmates understand the law,” said Nadeem.
 

    Siddiqui had filed an application before the MCOCA court last year asking the court to instruct ATS to provide his call data records. He insisted that his mobile phone location would reveal that he was not present at the spot when the blast took place. The investigating agency told the court they had lost the records. Later, the court asked four mobile companies to provide the CDR of all suspects in this case, and the companies said they would charge Rs 33 lakh for providing data. After the court’s intervention, the CDR was provided. 

 

The Times of India, November 10, 2013

11/7 accused want judge, cops to testify

 

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The 13 men on trial for the July 11, 2006 serial train blasts want a judge and four senior police officers to be examined as defence witnesses. 

    The men, alleged members of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), have filed an application in the special MCOCA court in this regard, in which they have also sought permission to call six others, including three alleged Indian Mujahideen (IM) men jailed for the July 2008 Ahmedabad blasts, as defence witnesses.
 

    The judge is the then chief metropolitan magistrate of the Esplande court S N Chinchambekar. The police officers are additional commissioners Vishwas Nangre Patil and Milind Bharambe (who were then deputy commissioners), and DCPs Dilip Sawant and Suhas Warke. The application, filed by advocate Wahab Khan on behalf of the 13, also mentions an MTNL officer, a police inspector, a woman who rented her Sewree flat to the IM men, two persons who allegedly sold the pressure cookers used in the train blasts, and the uncle of a wanted IM suspect, Abu Rashid.
 

    The application states that the 11/7 accused have made the request “to prove their innocence and false implication in view of new material that has come on record during the course of examining defence witnesses”.
 

    The accused want Chinchambekar to be examined to prove confirmation proceedings of the confessional statements of the IM men, Sadique Shaikh, Arif Shaikh and Ansar Shaikh. “Sadique had told his Mumbai crime branch interrogators that his group was behind the train blasts and those caught for them were the wrong people. We came to know of this through media reports and so we want to call him,” said defence lawyer Shahid Nadeem Ansari. “Chinchambekar had confirmed the voluntariness of the confessional statement of Sadique and the others.”
 

    Sadique gave the same statement to at least half a dozen police agencies. The ATS took Sadique in custody and discharged him claiming he was lying and had no role in the train blasts.  The three IM men were arrested by the Mumbai crime branch for their alleged role in sending terror emails before and after the Ahmedabad blasts. As per sections 18(4) and (5) of MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act), an accused who gives a confessional statement before a DCP-level officer is required to be produced before a chief metropolitan magistrate for verification. Patil had recorded the confessional statement of Sadique, the application stated. The 11/7 accused want Patil to be examined to prove the voluntary nature of the confession of Sadique, who later denied the contents of his confessional statement. Bharambe had recorded Arif ’s confession. 

 
WHEN TERROR SHOOK MUMBAI
Seven RDX bombs exploded in the first-class compartments of 7 locals within 11 minutes on July 11, 2006 188 KILLED  

816 INJURED
 

CASE AND CONTROVERSY
    13 alleged SIMI members were arrested by the ATS, led by senior police officers K P Raghuvnshi and S K Jaiswal
    The trial has reached the last stage
    The case is controversial as the ATS arrested SIMI members, whereas several police agencies were told that an IM module was behind the blasts
    The accused say they have been falsely implicated. They have obtained documents under the RTI to point out loopholes in the case. The defence, while examining prosecution witnesses, has tried to show that they have been lying and that they were not present where they said they were
 

JUDGE, COPS AS WITNESSES S N Chinchambekar | The former chief metropolitan magistrate of the Esplande court confirmed the recording of the confessional statement of defence witness Sadique Shaikh and others
Vishwas Nangre Patil, Milind Bharambe | The additional police commissioners (then DCPs) had recorded the statements of the accused under MCOCA
Dilip Sawant, Suhas Warke | The deputy police commissioners were involved in the probe. Warke is now with the National Investigation Agency

 

 

The Times of India, August 8, 2013

7/11 blast accused files application to call 11 people as witnesses

Mumbai 7/11 local train bombing accused, Ehtesham Siddiqui, through his lawyer, Abdul Wahab Khan, on August 6, 2013, filed an application in the special MCOCA court seeking permission to call 11 persons as witnesses in his case. The application is as below: 

IN THE COURT OF SPECIAL JUDGE CONSTITUED UNDER

MAHARASHTRA CONTROL OF ORGANISED ACT.1999 FOR GREATER MUMBAI

                               M.C.O.C SPL.CASE NO.21 OF 2006

KAMAL ANSARI AND OT  HERS.  APPLICANT/ORIG.ACCUSED      

                                         V/S

THE STATE OF MAHARSHTRA   RESPONDENT/ORIG.COMPLT    

APPLICATION FOR ALLOWING THE ACCUSED PERSONS TO EXAMINE THE BELOWMENTIONED WITTNESS AS DEFENCE WITTNESS IN VEIW OF NEW MATERIAL WHICH HAS COME ON RECORD DURING THE COURSE OF PROCEEDING OF THE CASE AFTER THE CLOSURE PURSES FILED BY THE PROSECUTION AND DURING THE CROSS EXAMINAITON OF THE DEFENCE WITTNESS.

                                       

MAY IT PLEASE YOUR HONOUR

            This Hon;ble Court may graciously be pleased to allow the Defense to Examine the below mentioned witness as Defense witness in support of their case in order to prove there innocence and falls implication, in view of new material which has come on record during the course of the examination of the defense witness. The evidence of this witness is material, relevant and admissible under the law and very much necessary for unfolding the truth for the just decision of the case.

i)Shri.S.N Chinchambekar,I/C Chief M.M at Esplanade Court, Mumbai having charge on 18-10-2008 for proving the confirmation proceeding of the confessional statement of 3 defense witness viz DW No.33,34 and 35.

DW33-Sadique Asrar Shaikh

DW34-Md Arif Badruddin Shaikh                Indian Mujahedeen Accused

DW35-Ansar Ahmed Badsha Shaikh

(He had confirmed the voluntariness of the confessional statement of Sadique Asrar Shaikh, Ansar Badsha Shaikh, Arif Badruddin Shaikh u/s 18(4) & (5) of MCOCA 1999. Reason for calling him that, he shall prove the voluntariness of the confession of the all above three accused . As per section 18   18(4) & (5) of MCOCA 1999 the accused when give confession on DCP ,then required to be produced before CMM for verification that he had given confession to DCP)

ii)Shri.Vishwas Nagre Patil(Then DCP, who recorded the Confessional Statement of DW No.33)for proving the Contradiction and its voluntary nature.

(For proving the contradiction of confessional statement given by Sadique Israr Shaikh , Sadique had denied the content ,since this witness had recorded the confessional ,the he will prove the confession of Sadique)

iii) Shri.Milind Bharambe(Then DCP,who recorded the Confessional Statement of DW No.34)for proving the Contradiction and its voluntary nature.

(for proving the contradiction of confessional statement of Md Arif Badsha Shaikh)

iv) Shri.Dilip Sawantl(Then DCP,who recorded the Confessional Statement of

DW No.35)for proving the Contradiction and its voluntary nature.

(For proving the contradiction of confessional statement of Ansar Ahmed Badsha )

v)Mrs.Dilshad Sikander Shaikh,

r/a.Raza Tower,Dakhan Co-Op Hsg.Society,

Shivdi Cross Road,Mumbai.(phone NO.24128378)

(for proving access of her Room to the DW No.33 and his Companion for preparing the Bomb for causing the Blast on 7-11-2006 in the western local train in the first class compartment, immediately prior to the occurrence of the incident as deposed by DW No.33 in his evidence)

vi)Mahendarbhai Dedhia, Who’s statement was recorded in C.R No.41 of 2006 comprising in Volume E-III, produced at belated stage ,and who was traced out by PI.Kathkhede of Bandra Police Station, and reflected in Case diary dated 28-9-2006 as deposed by PW No.167.

vii) Arvind Umarshi Shah,Who’s statement was recorded in C.R No.41 of 2006 comprising in Volume E-III, produced at belated stage ,and who was traced out by PI.Kathkhede of Bandra Police Station, and reflected in Case diary dated 28-9-2006 as deposed by PW No.167.

(for both above –sold the pressure cooker to some person looking like kashmiri at Santacruz)

viii)Dr.Suhas Warke(IO in MCOC Spl.Case No.23 of 2006)

presently attached to NIA,

(in view of awaited judgment in pending Appeal before the Hon;ble High Court for examining Mr.Kishan Shengal(earlier IO in MCOC.Spl.Case No.23 of 2006)to shows plantation and accessibility of the RDX to him during the period when the present Accused came to be arrested, interrogated and recovery of the traces of RDX was shown from their possession and/or at their instance from different places and attempt to make some of the present Accused as approver.

ix)IT officer(MTNL)

BKC,Bandra(E),Mumbai,

 

(For proving the accessibility of the Mobile record of MTNL even after the period of one year in the system)

x)Mr.

(uncle  of Abu Rashid)

(The statement of this witness was initially suppressed and not filed with the final report and during the course of the defense evidence the same was produced with the intention of causing prejudice to the defense. For proving that Abu Rashid is wanted in so many terror case)

xi)PI. Mohite,(ATS)

(For proving tampering of the defense evidence deliberately)

And for this act of kindness the Accused as in duty bound shall ever pray.

Place: Mumbai,

Dated: 29th day of July.2013

                                                  KHAN ABDUL WAHAB

                                         (ADVOCATE FOR THE ACCUSED)

Seven years later, 11/7 trial still underway

 

Mateen Hafeez & Rebecca Samervel TNN

Mumbai: Seven years have passed since seven bombs ripped through seven trains, killing 187 people and injuring hundreds, but the trial is yet to be completed. With the first three arrests, the state anti-terrorism squad (ATS) had claimed it solved the case within eight days of the blasts. But seven years later loopholes in the probe are haunting investigating officers. 

    To prove their innocence, the accused are using RTI, calling for call data records (CDR) and even seeking confessional statement CDs from the investigating agency. The 13 suspected Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) members who were ‘responsible’ for the blasts are behind bars though the crime branch claimed in 2008 that they were not responsible and it was the handiwork of the now-banned Indian Mujahideen.
 

    Seven RDX bombs, planted in first class compartments, exploded during peak hours on July 11, 2006, near Matunga, Khar, Bandra, Borivli and Mahim stations.  Blast accused Ethesham Siddiqui (31) used RTI query replies to point out loopholes in the prosecution’s case. Last month, Siddiqui, who also appeared in the defence’s list of 48 witnesses, told court that two documents procured under the act, showed that his signature could have been forged on a document showing his alleged willingness to confess. Siddiqui said that while the document produced in court had his ‘signature’, a copy of the document received through an RTI query, bore no such signature. 

 
    Earlier in May, Siddiqui referred to another query and said the information contradicted statements of many prosecution witnesses. A prosecution witness had claimed that he had boarded a Virar local from Churchgate at 5.15 pm. But an RTI reply from the railways showed there was no train at that time. Siddiqui claimed that documents revealed that many witnesses were police informers or under the influence of the investigating agency. 

    The defence said Dr Tanvir Ansari was not present at the place alleged by the prosecution. “A defence witness, a colleague at Ansari’s hospital, testified that on the day of the blasts he was in hospital, attending to a patient,” the defence said. 

    Siddiqui was accused of manufacturing pressure cooker bombs at the Govandi residence of Mohammad Ali, another co-accused charge-sheeted in the case. He said that he was at Mira Road at the time of the blasts. “I was offering Maghrib prayers at a mosque that day, and was informed about it when I came out,” he said. The police claimed Siddiqui was at Churchgate and had played a key role in planting the bombs. 

    The accused, after submission of call records, had petitioned before court to depose as witnesses. “They had used the CDR to show that they were not present at places the ATS alleged they were that day,” defence lawyer Sharif Shaikh said. The ATS claimed that 11 Pakistanis had entered Mumbai, assembled bombs and planted them on trains, before fleeing. But no Pakistani was caught. The accused face charges under MCOCA and the trial is being heard by special judge Y D Shinde.
 

THE NEVER-ENDING TRAIN JOURNEY
July 11, 2006 | Seven RDX bombs explode on Mumbai trains, killing 188 and injuring 817  

July 20 | ATS begins arrests 

July 25 | Unani doctor Tanvir Ansari held; 16 arrests till date
October | 3 acquitted 

June 20, 2007 | Trial begins in MCOCA court
Aug 23 | An accused appeals  

Feb 29, 2008 | Supreme Court admits appeal, trial stayed
Oct 5, 2009 | SC reserves order on appeal
July 2010 | Trial resumes 

June 2012 | Recording of statements of accused starts

The Times of India, July 11, 2013

6 yrs later, no clarity on real culprits behind train blasts

Cops Claim ATS-Crime Branch Infighting Delaying Detection

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Six years have passed since seven bombs ripped apart seven locals, killing 187 people and injuring hundreds, but still, there is no clarity on the real culprits.
    “Owing to the infighting of the ATS and crime branch, we are yet to zero in on the actual culprits,” a source said.   The 13 suspected SIMI members who were said to be responsible for the blasts are still behind bars but the crime branch in 2008 had claimed that they were not responsible and that the carnage was the handiwork of the now-banned outfit, Indian Mujahideen (IM). 

    Seven RDX bombs, planted in the first class compartments of seven trains, exploded during the evening peak hour on July 11, 2006, near Matunga, Khar, Bandra, Borivli and Mahim stations. “An IM operative, Sadique Shaikh, arrested by the crime branch in September 2008 had said the blasts were engineered by the IM and not by those (suspected SIMI members) arrested,” a senior crime branch officer had said. He had claimed the bombs were made at Raza Tower in Sewree.
 

    But the anti-terrorism squad, which has been investigating the case, has different theories, which have been questioned several times. According to the ATS, it was the SIMI members who were responsible and that the bombs were made in Govandi. The ATS had also claimed 11 Pakistanis had entered Mumbai, assembled bombs and planted them on trains, before fleeing. But not a single Pakistani was caught. On August 22, 2006, the ATS shot dead Abu Osama alias Umaid, suspected to be one of the 11, a deserted building in Antop Hill. During a probe on the trains, ATS officers had come across the torso of a man, whom they had claimed to be a Pakistani bomber, Saleem. “Post-media reports, the ATS took into custody IM member Shaikh, but discharged him,” said a source.
 

    The accused face charges under MCOCA and the trial is being heard by special judge Y D Shinde. After examining 188 prosecution witnesses, the court is recording the accused’s statements. “The trial is expected to end in three-four months,” an advocate said.
 

CARNAGE TRAIL
July 20, 2006 | ATS begins arrests  

July 25, 2006 | Unani doctor Tanvir Ansari held. 16 arrests till date  

Oct, 2006 | 3 acquitted  

June 20, 2007 | Trial begins in MCOCA court  

Aug 23, 2007 | An accused appeals  

Feb 29, 2008 | Supreme Court admits appeal, trial stayed  

Oct 5, 2009 | SC reserves order on appeal  

July 2010 | Trial resumes  

June 2012 | Recording of statements of the accused starts

The Times of India, July 11, 2012

SC upholds MCOCA charges in three terror-related cases

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the decision to invoke Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in the 7/11 train blasts and two other terror-related cases.

A bench of Justice R V Ravindran and Justice Kukundam Sharma dimissed the appeal challenging the constitutional validity of the Act and upheld the Bombay high court’s judgment.

In 2007, Saeed Ahmed, son of 7/11 train blast accused Sohail Shaikh, Shabbir Masiullah arrested for the 2006 Malegaon blast and Zameer Rehman, an accused in the Aurangabad arms haul case, had filed petition in HC, challenging the constitutional validity of MCOCA. When the HC upheld the decision to slap MCOCA, the accused moved the SC in 2008; the apex court stayed the trial of the three.

Gulzar Azmi, secretary of the Jamiat-ul-Ulema (Hind), said their orgamisation had been offering legal help to the petitioners. “We are not satisfied with this judgment and we will not give up,’’ said Azmi. Advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan, who represented the petitioners, said, “The SC had upheld the Bombay HC’s order but I have not yet read the judgment yet.’’

Earlier all the three cases were investigated by the Maharashtra ATS. But now, the CBI has taken over the 2006 Malegaon bomb blast, which killed 31; 7/11 train blast and the Aurangabad arms haul case are still with the ATS.

The petitioners had claimed that the government did not have the power to draft its own law (MCOCA). Pointing to Section 2(1) (e) of MCOCA, 1999, which refers to “promoting of insurgency’’, the petition questioned the constitutional validity of the law. Earlier, the HC ruled that the Act was valid and did not make inroads into the legislative powers of the Centre. The petitioners’ argument was that the provision under MCOCA regarding “promoting insurgency’’ under Section 2 (e) and allied sections was in conflict with that of the Unalwful Activities Prevention Act, 1967 (amended in 2004). Rehman, in his petition, which was rejected by the HC, challenged Section 2 (1)(e), on the grounds that the state government did not have the legislative competence to enact the section dealing with “promoting insurgency’’.

Terror Footprint In Maharashtra

Aurngabad arms haul: In May and June 2006, the ATS arrested 19 suspected SIMI members on charges of carrying, hiding and possessing firearms. The police had first arrested three persons on May 6, 2006, near Chandavd-Aurangabad highway and seized RDX and AK-47 assault rifles from them. Later, the police seized 50 bombs, 43 kg RDX, 3,200 bullets and 16 AK-47 rifles. The police invoked MCOCA in the case

2006 Malegaon blasts: On September 8, four bombs exploded in Malegaon, killing 31 people and injuring 297. The explosives, which were fitted to cycles, went off when the final round of Friday prayers were on. The bombs contained RDX, oil fuel, shrapnel and ammonium nitrate. Nine alleged SIMI members were arrested on charges of conspiring and executing the blasts. The case, after being started by the ATS, was shifted to the CBI. The police had invoked MCOCA

7/11 train blasts: Seven RDX bombs kept in the first class coaches of suburban trains exploded on July 11, killing 188 people and injuring 817. The ATS said the conspiracy was hatched in Pakistan and at least five of the 13 arrested persons had gone to Pakistan for terror training. The police said the Pakistan’s LeT had used SIMI to engineer the explosions. MCOCA was applied in this case

The Times of India, April 24, 2010

‘JuD recruiter Madni was not part of 7/11’

Jamatu-ud-Dawa's operative, Omar Madni (50) has been given a clean chit in the July 11, 2006 serial blasts in local train cases

Mateen Hafeez I TNN
Mumbai: Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative Omar Madni’s estranged brother, Haafiz Zubair, had sent Kamal Ansari, a suspect in the 2006 train blasts case, to Pakistan for terror training, the state anti-terrorism squad (ATS) has revealed. Madni, however, was not part of the terror strike.

This has emerged during Madni’s interrogation by the ATS in Kolkata. After the questioning, the government agency gave him a clean chit, saying he did not play any role in the terror strikes in Maharashtra. However, Zubair is one of the foreigners, wanted in the train blasts case.

Madni was arrested in June by the Delhi police who claimed that he had gone to that city to “recruit youngsters for an extremist outfit’’. From there, he was handed over to the Bihar police for another case following which, he was sent to the custody of the Kolkata police.

According to a source, Madni was in charge of recruiting unemployed and uneducated youth in Nepal for terror training in Pakistan. He climbed his way up to become a commercial HR manager for the Lahore-based Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD), but he was not part of the conspiracy of carrying out terror strike in Maharashtra, an official said.

Currently in the custody of Kolkata’s special task force (STF), Madni told the police that he had joined hands with the LeT to fight against the “atrocities on Muslims and later, became the main recruiter for LeT in Nepal. “I was paid Rs 40,000 in Nepalese currency for sending each recruit for terror training,’’ said Madni, who has been associated with the LeT over the past 11 years and has sent many boys, including Zubair, to Pakistan for training.

A dispute over money reportedly created a rift between Zubair and Madni, who has now parted ways.

FAMILY
Madni was born in a poor family at Madhubani in Bihar. His father, Shamsul Haque, was a teacher of Islamic studies at Jamia Salfiya in Banaras where Madni studied for 10 years till 1980. After that, he went to Saudi Arabia’s Madina University. He returned to Bihar and married Mumtaz Begum from West Bengal in 1984; They had a daughter. They separated later.

Later, the entire family shifted to Janakpur in Nepal where they started a school for Islamic studies, Jamia Salfiya. In 1993, he again married, this time, a Nepalese woman, Rahima Khatoon, and has four sons and a daughter with her.

LeT CONNECTION
The soft-spoken Madni was first impressed with LeT when he came across the outfit’s monthly magazine, Dawa. “I was LeT chief Haafiz Saeed’s fan and would go to Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh to collect zakat (2.5% of income’s share Muslim donate every year) to run Jamia Salfiya,’’ he said. In 1998, he met Saeed and was selected for a 21-day training in assembling and operating arms and bombs. “However, I could not go through the rigorous physical training and was asked to identify youth in Nepal and India for the outfit,’’ Madni told the police.

MAOIST LINK
Learning about Madni’s finacial transactions, Maoists in Nepal demanded a ransom of Rs 3 lakh, which after bargaining, was brought down to Rs 7,000. Madni later floated an air ticket firm, Nice Tours & Travels, whose name first came to the fore during the 7/11 probe.

ARREST
Madni was introduced to a Pakistani national, Ahmed, by an LeT operative, Feroz. Ahmed handed him over Indian fake currency with a face value of Rs 50,000 and that of US$ 8,000 to deliver in Delhi. He was promised commission, claimed the police. The Delhi police claimed that Madni was on a trip to India to recruit “young talent’’ when he was arrested on June 4 from near Qutub Minar.

The Times of India, July 13, 2009

Al-Qaida role in train blasts unclear, says ATS chief

Mateen Hafeez I TNN
Mumbai: Reacting to the statement by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) that al-Qaida was involved in the 7/11 serial train bombings in Mumbai, state anti-terrorism squad (ATS) chief K P Raghuvanshi said they are not aware of the terror outfit’s role as they could not carry out investigations beyond the Indian border.

The US and UNSC had said the al-Qaida had aided the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in engineering and executing the July 11, 2006, Mumbai train blasts that killed 188 and injured 817. The ATS had already arrested and chargesheeted 13 youths, suspected to be members of banned outfit, Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). The trial is pending in the case.

The ATS had said that Rs 20 lakh was used to finance the operation and the money had come from Pakistan through hawala. “It was engineered by LeT and SIMI activists were used to execute the train blasts,’’ said Raghuvanshi.

Referring to the UNSC report, Raghuvanshi said, “This report talks about who funded the attack. The conspiracy was hatched in Pakistan by LeT operative Azam Cheema and his associates. But we had no opportunity to investigate how LeT is being financed in Pakistan as we could not conduct any probe beyond our border.’’

The ATS had earlier said that at least six youths caught for the 7/11 blasts went to Bahawalpur in Pakistan for terror training.

The US and the UNSC had named four LeT top commanders, Fazeelatul Shaikh Abu Mohammed Ameen Al-Peshawari, Nasir Javed, Arif Qasmani and Mohammed Yahya Mujahid. However, these names neither appeared in the interrogation report of the 7/11 suspects nor in the chargesheet. “We are looking for 13 Pakistanis who are wanted in the case. Most of the Pakistanis had used code names and we are not sure if the names we got were real or just code names,’’ said ATS additional commissioner Param Bir Singh.

According to the UNSC report, Qasmani, the chief coordinator for LeT, deals with other organisations to carry out the operations. In the 7/11 case, the ATS said it was Faisal Shaikh, LeT’s western India commander, who had plotted the blasts. Thirteen SIMI members, including Shaikh, are currently in jail.

The Times of India, July 4, 2009

Cops to question arms haul accused in Hyd blasts case

LET LINKS

Mateen Hafeez I TNN

Mumbai: Naeem Shaikh, an accused in the May 2006 Aurangabad arms haul case, had helped four Pakistanis board a Hyderabad-bound train from Kolkata in February this year. This was stated in a narcoanalysis test report conducted on Shaikh in Kolkata in April this year.

Shaikh alias Sameer alias Naiyoo (26), the 18th accused to be arrested by the Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad in the arms haul case, is alleged to have links with a Lashkar-e-Taiba operative Shahid Bilal. A native of Gujarat, Bilal is suspected to have masterminded the blast in the Mecca mosque in Hyderabad on May 19. The Hyderabad police will soon take custody of Sameer to question him.

Sameer had allegedly revealed during narco-analysis that he had bought tickets and made other necessary arrangements for the four Pakistanis to enter Hyderabad. However, when the police questioned him after the narco test, he denied having said these things.

Sameer, a resident of Aurangabad district, quit college five years ago while he was doing his Bachelor in Computer Science (BCS). He is currently in Arthur Road jail and has been booked under MCOCA.

“In late 2005, Sameer had gone to Jeddah where he met Amjad, an LeT operative. Sameer reportedly expressed his wish to work for the LeT and was told he would be contacted later on. In January 2006, Sameer was called in Kolkata and since then he was missing,’’ ATS chief Krish Pal Raghuvanshi said.

“He is not speaking about the people he helped cross the border. He says he never admitted during the narco-analysis that he had gone to Kolkata or Bangladesh. The Hyderabad police will soon take his custody and question him. He has been denying any involvement in other cases,’’ added Raghuvanshi.
mateen.hafeez@timesgroup.com


The Times of India, May 22, 2007

One more held for selling fake degrees to 7/11 suspects

FINDING THE LINK

Mateen Hafeez I TNN

Mumbai: The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Friday arrested a Thane man for allegedly selling fake degree certificates in a scam that was earlier uncovered during investigations into the deadly 7/11 serial blasts.

The ATS arrested Sandeep Kumar Mengi, 32, who claimed to be a director of the Bhartiya Shiksha Parishad (BSP), Lucknow. Mengi’s name cropped up in investigations following the arrest of Vijay Agrawal, 54, another director of the BSP, on March 1 this year.

The suspects were allegedly involved in selling fake certificates to two brothers, Muzammil Shaikh and Raheel Shaikh, who are accused in the case involving the blasts, which took 187 lives on July 11, 2006. While Muzammil was arrested on July 27 last year, Raheel is absconding and is believed to be in London.

Using the fake degrees, Muzammil got a job as a computer programmer with a multinational software company in Bangalore and Raheel became a computer engineer with M/s Zensar Technologies in Pune in 2003. Raheel later went to the UK.

“Mengi used to issue fake degree certificates to students and we have arrested his accomplice earlier in this case. The police are probing the matter and hoping to get more information,’’ said Param Bir Singh, additional commissioner of police, ATS.

The ATS is also gathering details about a bank account into which the BSP office-bearers allegedly deposited money from the sales of degrees. The ATS has alerted several other agencies and informed the Lucknow police about the case. “A record of bank accounts and financial transactions would help us know about the modus operandi and the people involved,’’ said an officer.

Raheel, the police suspect, may have got a BSc certificate from the BSP for Rs 40,000. The two brothers were issued certificates in 1996-97. Investigators also said that the BSP was not a central, state or deemed university and was not empowered to give any degrees. The BSP is not recognised by the University Grants Commission (UGC). The ATS has also found that Agrawal, who claims to be a PhD, has only completed Std IX.

The police have questioned Mengi about whether the other 7/11 blasts accused were issued fake certificates too.

During a raid at Mengi’s residence in Thane, the ATS seized the BSP register of student enrollment from 1997 to 2006, BSP rubber stamps, students’ provisional certificates, identity cards, the institute’s details and a mark-list of students issued by Madhya Pradesh’s Bhoj university.

The police alleged that the BSP men were running an organised fake certificate scam in several states. “They would charge Rs 40,000 for a bachelor’s degree and then enrol students in the BSP and issue first-year and second-year certificates. Later, they would enrol these students with Bhoj university in the third year,’’ an officer alleged.

The police are now looking for a man who is said to be an organiser of the Sai college of distance education in Thane.
mateen.hafeez@timesgroup.com

The Times of India, April 30,2007

Police yet to zero in on foreign accused

8 MONTHS AFTER 7/11

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: Eight months after cracking the sensational 7/11 train blasts case, the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) is struggling to get “useful information’’ about the six accused based in Nepal and the nine wanted Pakistanis involved in the case.

Specific information—like an accused’s real name, his possible location in a foreign country and role in a crime—is a must to issue a red-corner notice against him\her.

Recently, the Interpol issued red-corner notices against only two of the 15 wanted accused in the case: Raheel Ataur Rehman Shaikh, based in Birmingham, UK, and Rizwan Dawrey, currently in Dubai.

The notices were issued following specific information about their residential addresses in Thane and Pune, their photographs, role in the blasts case and location in the foreign countries. The two have been accused of routing hawala money from Pakistan to London and from there to Dubai.

Dawrey is said to have routed this money from Dubai to Mumbai through hawala channels. However, hawala cases come under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999. The two accused are also accused of “aiding and abetting’’ the blasts. India has an extradition treaty with the UK and Dubai. “Once Shaikh and Dawrey are located by the Interpol, they will be extradited,’’ said an ATS officer.

“We don’t have the real name and addresses of the accused in Pakistan and Nepal. We are still collecting information about them. The names which we got during interrogation could be wrong,’’ said an ATS officer. The documents prepared by the ATS were sent to the city crime branch and later to the CBI. The ATS also has no clue about the two ‘wanted’ bombers who had planted the explosives in the local trains.

The ATS in its chargesheet claimed it has got five bombers—Faisal Shaikh, Kamal Ansari, Naved Hussain, Ehtesham Siddiqui and Asif Bashir Khan alias Junaid—who had planted the bombs in five local trains. “The identity of those who planted bombs in two other trains is yet to be established,’’ said the officer.

Investigators had told the court that each planter was accompanied by a Pakistani and got down after keeping the bomb in the train. But they are still in the dark about the identity of the two planters who stayed in Mumbai for several weeks, travelled with the co-accused and went to plant the bombs, sources said.

“The two planters were Indians but we are yet to establish their identity as they have escaped,’’ said an officer.

When asked whether the socalled Lashkar-e-Taiba’s western India commander, Fasial Shaikh, had provided information about the two planters, the officer preferred not to comment.

The police said that the Pakistanis had come to Mumbai stayed at Thane and Govandi and manufactured the bombs but their Indian accomplices were unaware about the Pakistanis’ addresses. What they knew was just their names.

mateen.hafeez@timesgroup.com

The Times of India, March 21, 2007

7/11-like terror can hit city again: Police

Chargesheet Filed By ATS Says Railways Ignored Warning

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: The 7/11 bombing of local trains was by no means the last attack on Mumbai, and the city is likely to encounter more terror assaults in future. This warning is the highlight of the Anti-Terrorist Squad’s (ATS) 10,443-page chargesheet filed before the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court on Thursday.

More shocking than this, however, is the revelation by ATS sources that it had warned the railway authorities about being targetted by terrorists much before the July 11 attacks. A letter by ATS chief Krish Pal Raghuvanshi onMarch 1, 2006, had informed railway commissioner Suresh Khopde as well as the general manager and divisional railway manager of Western Railway about a possible terror attack. Raghuvanshi had specifically mentioned that a terrorist could board a local train with an improvised explosive device and get down after leaving it in a compartment. However, the railway authorities did not take the letter seriously.

The chargesheet, which was prepared in 142 days, states that one of the 13 arrested accused, Asif Bashir Khan alias Junaid, is the chief operative of the Lashkar-e-Taiba in Mumbai (until now, the ATS had believed Faisal Shaikh to be the chief). “Junaid, president of the banned SIMI in the state, was wanted in two major cases. He acted as a ‘coordinator’ among all the accused in the 7/11 case,’’ said Raghuvanshi. Fifteen accused, including nine Pakistanis, are still at large.

The chargesheet also states that Naved Khan, who alleged ly planted a bomb in a Khar train, had told the police that he was in a snooker club in Mira Road then. “He had enrolled himself in the snooker club under a false name. However, we have evidence that he did not go to the club on July 11,’’ Raghuvanshi told TOI.

The chargesheet mentions more than seven money transactions by the accused from Pakistan to a Gulf country and then India.

Bihar resident Kamal Ahmed, the first to be arrested in the case on July 19, underwent terror training in Pakistan. “We have submitted our evidence to the court about his visits to Pakistan. He visited Pakistan at least seven times and brought more than a dozen militants to India via the Nepal border,’’ ATS sources said.

The Times of India, December 1, 2006

Police probe if 7/11 accused had any role

Mateen Hafeez I TNN
Mumbai: The anti-terrorism squad (ATS) is questioning two accused in the Malegaon blasts case to ascertain if they received any support from Faisal Shaikh, a key figure in the Mumbai serial blasts case.

The duo, Mohammed Ali and Asif Bashir Khan, alias Junaid, were first booked for their alleged involvement in the Mumbai blasts and later for the Malegaon blasts. Faisal, a resident of Mira Road who is alleged to be Western India commander of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, had his schooling in Malegaon. He has been arrested for the July 11 blasts.

The crime branch claimed that the 29-year-old had been in Malegaon for six to seven years during his education at Jamiat-ul-Huda. The ATS is now trying to find out if Faisal had met any of those arrested in connection with the Malegaon blasts and if he had any hand in the conspiracy. On September 8, four bombs went off in Malegaon. The ATS has arrested seven persons in the case, including two Unani doctors, Salman Farsi and Farogh Makhdomi.

The ATS said Ali and Junaid were involved in the hatching of the conspiracy in February. They were arrested in connection with the 7/11 blasts.

The police said that Ali and Farsi were neighbours in Govandi; Ali had even stood surety for Farsi when the latter was arrested by the Govandi police in 2003. Faisal had come to Govandi to meet Ali on several occasions, and the police suspect that Ali might have introduced Farsi to him.

Ali and Junaid are alleged to have transported RDX used in Malegaon. Sources said the police were probing if Faisal also took part in the Malegaon blasts conspiracy or if he provided support to those arrested in the case.

In the 7/11 case, it is alleged that the bombs planted in suburban trains were assembled in Ali’s Govandi house. Faisal was said to be present when the bombs were being made. Later, the bombs were transported from Govandi to Faisal’s Bandra flat, the police said. The police are also exploring if the RDX smuggled to Malegaon came with the huge consignment used in the train bombings. The police said Faisal had even received hawala money to execute the train bombings.

The Times of India, November 16, 2006

7/11 BLASTS CASE - No chargesheet before Indo-Pak talks, says ATS

Mateen Hafeez I TNN
Mumbai: The anti-terrorism squad (ATS) on Tuesday clarified that it will not file the chargesheet in the 7/11 Mumbai serial blasts case before the second week of November, when the Centre and Pakistan are due to hold joint secretarylevel talks in New Delhi. Though the Centre has not asked the ATS to hurry the chargesheet, it has said it wants to hand over evidence of a Pakistani hand in the blasts during the Delhi talks.

The ATS said it will not file the document in a hurry, but will submit it to the court by the stipulated deadline, which is December 5, along with all the evidence available against the accused. However, the evidence collected so far can be submitted to the Centre to be handed to Pakistan during the talks, the ATS said.

ATS chief Krish Pal Raghuvanshi, who has personally interrogated all the accused, said that the investigation was being done meticulously and in a professional manner and the police were gathering all evidence.

Talking about the alleged Pakistani hand, Raghuvanshi said, “We were not collecting the evidence against Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) or Pakistan, but against those involved in the blasts, which killed around 200 people. During the investigation, many secrets were revealed by the arrested men and we have informed the court about it.’’

Seven bombs planted in seven local trains went off on July 11, killing 192 people and injuring over 400. So far, the police have 13 people in custody in the blast case. Three other men were discharged since there was “insufficient evidence of their involvement in the case’’, police said.

All the accused were booked under MCOCA, a stringent law introduced in Maharashtra in 1999 to combat organised crime. When asked about when the chargesheet would be filed, the ATS chief said, “No government can direct the police to file a chargesheet. As of now, we have no direction or compulsion from the government to file the chargesheet. In a normal exercise, a chargesheet is filed in 90 days. Under the provisions of MCOCA we can file the chargesheet in 180 days. We can also request the court for an extension and file the chargesheet even later to give all the evidence. We will try to file it in the given time-frame.’’

Does the ATS have clinching evidence about Pakistan’s involvement? “Our duty is to submit the evidence to the court. It will be up to the court to decide whether it is clinching or not,’’ he added.

The ATS also has the option of filing a supplementary chargesheet later. “In the 1993 blast case, one of the accused, Abu Salem, was not arrested but the chargesheet was filed and the trial began. After his arrest in India, the CBI filed a supplementary chargesheet against him. To file the chargesheet against an accused, he must be arrested,’’ Raghuvanshi said.

The ATS has so far not found any link between the Aurangabad arms haul case and the Karnavati Express blast. However, it is probing the link between the Mumbai train bombings and the Malegaon blasts. “There may or may not be a link between the two,” he said.

Police sources said they have confessional statements from several of the accused in the 7/11 case. The accused allegedly said they underwent training in a Pakistan terror camp. These accused include Faisal Shaikh, Muzammil, Dr Tanvir Ansari, Zameer Shaikh, Sohail and Kamal Ansari.

Accused was tortured: Kin
Mumbai: Mukhtar Ahmed Shaikh, the brother of Mohammed Ali Shaikh, an accused in the 7/11 blasts case, has alleged in an application made before a special MCOCA court that Mohammed was tortured in custody by high ranking police officials.

“The court has ordered the superintendent of Arthur Road jail to send Mohammed for a medical examination and submit a report by November 9 when the complaint would be taken up for hearing again,’’ said advocate Anjali Iyer.

Mohammed Shaikh is the man in whose Govandi home the bombs were allegedly assembled before being planted on suburban local trains. Mukhtar has said that he met Mohammed at Arthur Road jail on November 6 and he told him that he was assaulted by police officers. He claimed they wanted him to sign a confessional statement. Mohammed also said he was also threatened not to say a word about the torture to the court or his family would be falsely implicated in a criminal case.

Raj denies threats to 7/11 lawyers
Mumbai: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray has denied allegations that he had warned lawyers not to represent those who are accused in the July 11, 2006, serial train blasts case.

In an affidavit submitted on Tuesday before the Bombay high vourt, where he is facing a contempt of court petition, Thackeray claimed that the media had “misinterpreted’’ and “grossly twisted’’ all his statements.

The contempt petition was filed by the voluntary organisations, Indian Association of Peoples Lawyers and Committee for the Protection of Democratic Rights, after a nod from Maharashtra advocategeneral Ravi Kadam.

In a rally on July 16, 2006, to pay condolences to the victims of the serial train blasts, Thackeray had reportedly warned lawyers against representing accused arrested for the blasts conspiracy.

In his affidavit, Thackeray claimed his statements were misinterpreted, but at the same time the MNS chief said he had the right to protest and express his opinions against lawyers defending such accused. “What was said and what was intended by me was that my party would stage demonstrations against lawyers who accepted the brief of the accused in the bomb blasts,’’ said Thackeray adding that his statements were inspired by a “moral and social conscience’’.

While apologising to the court if any of his statements were offensive, Thackeray reiterated, “I am not going to physically prevent any lawyer from accepting briefs, but had appealed to their moral conscience.’’ The petition also claimed that the contempt charges were premature as at the time the statements were made, no case had been filed in any court.

In his letter approving the contempt charges, the A-G had said considering the reported statements made by Thackeray, a prima facie case was made out for criminal contempt of court as any conduct likely to deter an advocate is also interference with the course of justice.

The Times of India, November 8, 2006

No chargesheet before Indo-Pak talks, says ATS

Mateen Hafeez I TNN
Mumbai: The anti-terrorism squad (ATS) on Tuesday clarified that it will not file the chargesheet in the 7/11 Mumbai serial blasts case before the second week of November, when the Centre and Pakistan are due to hold joint secretarylevel talks in New Delhi. Though the Centre has not asked the ATS to hurry the chargesheet, it has said it wants to hand over evidence of a Pakistani hand in the blasts during the Delhi talks.

The ATS said it will not file the document in a hurry, but will submit it to the court by the stipulated deadline, which is December 5, along with all the evidence available against the accused. However, the evidence collected so far can be submitted to the Centre to be handed to Pakistan during the talks, the ATS said.

ATS chief Krish Pal Raghuvanshi, who has personally interrogated all the accused, said that the investigation was being done meticulously and in a professional manner and the police were gathering all evidence.

Talking about the alleged Pakistani hand, Raghuvanshi said, “We were not collecting the evidence against Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) or Pakistan, but against those involved in the blasts, which killed around 200 people. During the investigation, many secrets were revealed by the arrested men and we have informed the court about it.’’

Seven bombs planted in seven local trains went off on July 11, killing 192 people and injuring over 400. So far, the police have 13 people in custody in the blast case. Three other men were discharged since there was “insufficient evidence of their involvement in the case’’, police said.

All the accused were booked under MCOCA, a stringent law introduced in Maharashtra in 1999 to combat organised crime. When asked about when the chargesheet would be filed, the ATS chief said, “No government can direct the police to file a chargesheet. As of now, we have no direction or compulsion from the government to file the chargesheet. In a normal exercise, a chargesheet is filed in 90 days. Under the provisions of MCOCA we can file the chargesheet in 180 days. We can also request the court for an extension and file the chargesheet even later to give all the evidence. We will try to file it in the given time-frame.’’

Does the ATS have clinching evidence about Pakistan’s involvement? “Our duty is to submit the evidence to the court. It will be up to the court to decide whether it is clinching or not,’’ he added.

The ATS also has the option of filing a supplementary chargesheet later. “In the 1993 blast case, one of the accused, Abu Salem, was not arrested but the chargesheet was filed and the trial began. After his arrest in India, the CBI filed a supplementary chargesheet against him. To file the chargesheet against an accused, he must be arrested,’’ Raghuvanshi said.

The ATS has so far not found any link between the Aurangabad arms haul case and the Karnavati Express blast. However, it is probing the link between the Mumbai train bombings and the Malegaon blasts. “There may or may not be a link between the two,” he said.

Police sources said they have confessional statements from several of the accused in the 7/11 case. The accused allegedly said they underwent training in a Pakistan terror camp. These accused include Faisal Shaikh, Muzammil, Dr Tanvir Ansari, Zameer Shaikh, Sohail and Kamal Ansari.

Accused was tortured: Kin
Mumbai: Mukhtar Ahmed Shaikh, the brother of Mohammed Ali Shaikh, an accused in the 7/11 blasts case, has alleged in an application made before a special MCOCA court that Mohammed was tortured in custody by high ranking police officials.
“The court has ordered the superintendent of Arthur Road jail to send Mohammed for a medical examination and submit a report by November 9 when the complaint would be taken up for hearing again,’’ said advocate Anjali Iyer.
Mohammed Shaikh is the man in whose Govandi home the bombs were allegedly assembled before being planted on suburban local trains. Mukhtar has said that he met Mohammed at Arthur Road jail on November 6 and he told him that he was assaulted by police officers. He claimed they wanted him to sign a confessional statement. Mohammed also said he was also threatened not to say a word about the torture to the court or his family would be falsely implicated in a criminal case.

Raj denies threats to 7/11 lawyers
Mumbai: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray has denied allegations that he had warned lawyers not to represent those who are accused in the July 11, 2006, serial train blasts case.

In an affidavit submitted on Tuesday before the Bombay high vourt, where he is facing a contempt of court petition, Thackeray claimed that the media had “misinterpreted’’ and “grossly twisted’’ all his statements.

The contempt petition was filed by the voluntary organisations, Indian Association of Peoples Lawyers and Committee for the Protection of Democratic Rights, after a nod from Maharashtra advocategeneral Ravi Kadam.

In a rally on July 16, 2006, to pay condolences to the victims of the serial train blasts, Thackeray had reportedly warned lawyers against representing accused arrested for the blasts conspiracy.

In his affidavit, Thackeray claimed his statements were misinterpreted, but at the same time the MNS chief said he had the right to protest and express his opinions against lawyers defending such accused. “What was said and what was intended by me was that my party would stage demonstrations against lawyers who accepted the brief of the accused in the bomb blasts,’’ said Thackeray adding that his statements were inspired by a “moral and social conscience’’.

While apologising to the court if any of his statements were offensive, Thackeray reiterated, “I am not going to physically prevent any lawyer from accepting briefs, but had appealed to their moral conscience.’’ The petition also claimed that the contempt charges were premature as at the time the statements were made, no case had been filed in any court.

In his letter approving the contempt charges, the A-G had said considering the reported statements made by Thackeray, a prima facie case was made out for criminal contempt of court as any conduct likely to deter an advocate is also interference with the course of justice.

The Times of India, November 8, 2006