Our Bureau
Mumbai
Nearly 19 years after horrific Mumbai train blasts in 2006, the 12 people who were convicted for the blast have been acquitted by the High Court stating that the prosecution had “utterly failed” to prove the case against the accused. In 2015, the 12 accused were convicted by the trial court, which sentenced 5 of them to death and the others to life imprisonment.
The blast that took away the lives of 189 innocent people and left more than 800 injured was one of the most tragic incidents the country had ever seen. Today, the Bombay High Court with the bench of Justice Anil Kilor and Justice Shyam Chandak acquitted all the accused in the case as they claimed the prosecution failed to prove that the crimes were committed by the accused. The bench stated that they were given the “benefit of doubt” due to the failure of prosecution to prove the charges.
The court stated that the statements by the witness were questionable as they noted that it is not possible for any person to remember a suspect 100 days after the blasts happened. The court also noted that the explosives, arms and maps that were recovered during the investigation had no relations to the 2006 Mumbai Train Blasts. The bench also said that the prosecution even failed to prove what kind of bombs were actually used in the blasts.
The bench stated, “The prosecution has utterly failed to prove the case against the accused. It is hard to believe that the accused committed the crime. Hence, their conviction is quashed and set aside.” They have ordered that the 12 accused should be released from the jail if they are not wanted in any other case.
The 12 accused – Faisal Sheikh, Asif Khan, Kamal Ansari, Ehtesham Sidduqui and Naveed Khan, Mohammed Sajid Ansari, Mohammed Ali, Dr Tanveer Ansari, Majid Shafi, Muzzammil Shaikh, Sohail Shaikh and Zamir Shaikh will now walk free after the high court’s ruling today.
