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Mumbai/Malegaon:
The Central Bureau of Investigation
(CBI), three years after it took over the probe in the 2006 Malegaon
blasts, has said that it does not have evidence against those
arrested in the case.
The CBI has not filed a chargesheet or
report before the special court because it has no evidence, Public
prosecutor D.N. Salvi informed the Bombay High Court (HC) on
November, 16 yesterday.
Salvi's reply in the High Court (HC)
came during the hearing of the petition filed by Mohd. Zahid, Noorul
Huda and Shabbir Masihulla - three of the nine accused in jail since
2006.
The reply prompted the judges to
direct the Maharashtra
government to give explanations as to why the investigations of
September 2006 Malegaon blast were handed over to the Central Bureau
of Investigation (CBI).
Malegaon, the textile town in North
Maharashtra was attacked by terrorists
in September 2006. The blasts
that had taken place outside and near a mosque had killed more than
30 people and injured over 300, all of them Muslims. The
investigating agencies alleged the involvement of the Muslim youths
belonging to SIMI into the incident.
Following the persistent demand from
the town that by and large believed the arrested youths are
innocent, the government handed the investigations to CBI.
The High Court
during the hearing on November 17, 2009 yesterday said that
the cause for the transfer of investigations after the charge sheet
was filed needs to be examined.
"Why the case was handed over to the
CBI after ATS filed its chargesheet. Was it because the Government
doesn't have faith in its own investigating team?", Justice Patil
asked.
When Public Prosecutor said it was
because of the public outcry that the investigation was handed over
to the CBI, it infuriated the bench.
"Then we should release these accused
on bail too. There is public outcry," said Justice Patel. "Who
cried? State is going to decide on public outcry or based on
facts?", he asked.
ATS had arrested nine Muslim youths
for conspiring the blast. Abrar Ahmed one of these nine nine accused
became approver in the case. Abrar, however, turned hostile later on
and filed an affidavit saying he was lured and pressurized to become
an approver.
Abrar in his affidavit has also leveled serious charges against
the investigating officers.
The petitioners' advocate Amin Solkar
argued that according to Abrar's affidavit those arrested in the
September 29, 2008 blast in Malegaon had also carried out the 2006
blasts.
"There are serious allegations against
the investigating officers, then Superintendent of Police Rajvardhan
and ATS chief K.P. Raghuvanshi which need to be looked into," said
Solkar.
Solkar said the ATS filed the
chargesheet a day after the government had handed over the probe to
the CBI.
Police, however, maintained that the
chargesheet was filed before the CBI took over the probe. The HC has
asked the government to clarify this too.
The petitioners
has also sought
to investigate into the manner in which the inquiry was conducted in
the case.
The High Court has
asked the
state
government to file an affidavit in this
regard within two weeks.
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