2002-03 blasts verdict: Ansari given life term to ‘feel the pain of victims’
Mumbai Mirror Bureau
Bomb planter Muzammil Ansari escapes the noose and key accused Saquib Nachan gets 10 years.
Life imprisonment is crucial for the convict to realise the mental and physical pain blasts victims suffered, said the last POTA court on Wednesday while awarding life imprisonment until death to Muzammil Ansari, the bomb planter in the 2002-03 triple blasts case, and two others. Key accused Saquib Nachan got 10 years of jail.
All the accused stood in the dock meant for them at the far end of the court. Ansari was the last to be called to the box. After reading out the quantum of punishment for all the charges he had been found guilty on, the judge reached the provision prescribing the death sentence but said the case fell short of the ‘rarest of rare’ instances. He sentenced Ansari to imprisonment for the rest of his life for murder, and fined him Rs 39,500.
“I am of the view that if a person is hanged, within a fraction of a second his life comes to an end and he does not realise or feel mental, emotional and physical agony which victims of the crime or dependents of the deceased suffered or will suffer for their entire lives.” special judge Deshmukh said.
The two others sentenced to life are Dr Abdul Wahid, at whose Sakinaka dispensary the bombs were built, and Farhan Khot, who told cops about 250 iron casings — bomb components — hidden in a dry well behind a mosque in Padgha, his native place. Wahid and Khot have been fined Rs 1,40,000 under the Explosives Substance Act, the Arms Act, POTA and for criminal conspiracy.
Nachan, with his relatives Ateef and Hasib Mulla, have been sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment under POTA for possessing AK56 rifles, and have also been fined Rs 1,30,000 each. But they have been acquitted of direct involvement in the blasts. Nachan, still an undertrial in the Manoj Raicha case, and Ateef, who has so far spent only two years and eight months in prison, may not be coming out anytime soon. Mulla, though, will be out after spending the remainder of his sentence.
The rest of the convicts, barring Ansari, were granted bail in 2011, having spent more than 8.5 years in prison.
Mohammed Kamil, Noor Mohammed Ansari and Anwar Ali have been sentenced to two years in jail under the Arms Act and fined Rs 10,000. Mohammed Nadeem Paloba, Haroon Lohar and Adnan Bilal were acquitted of all charges.
Ali, a professor at the National Defense Academy in Pune before his arrest, seemed disappointed with the verdict. “I feel terrible about the eightand-a-half years of my life spent in prison. The minute police officers from Pune were informed about my acquittal on major charges, the harassment started. They have already visited my house twice.” he told Mirror after the verdict.
The judge refused extra compensation for the blasts victims, and ordered that 75% of the fine amount be given to the district legal services authority, and the remaining be paid to Central Railway as compensation, because of the damages it suffered during the attacks.
While closing, he thanked the defence and the prosecution for their help, without which “nothing would be possible”. But for the prosecution, the judgment came with a big setback, since the accused were acquitted of a number of grave charges slapped on them. For instance, Nachan, Ateef and Hasib have been exonerated under all the Indian Penal Code sections and the Explosives Substances Act, which included charges attracting the death penalty.
The others, because of the sections under which they were charged, underwent prolonged detention, for around 8.5 years.
THE BLASTS VERDICT
» Nearly 13 years after the 2002-03 blasts that killed 12 and injured 139, the special Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) court last Tuesday held 10 people, including key accused Saquib Nachan, guilty. The first blast took place on December 6, 2002, at a McDonald's outlet near Mumbai Central Railway Station, in which 27 people were injured.
» On January 27, 2003, a bomb planted on a bicycle exploded opposite the Jawahar Book Depot in Vile Parle, killing one person.
» On March 13, 2003, another bomb exploded in the ladies' compartment of a Karjat-bound fast train as it was approaching Mulund station. As many as 11 people were killed and 71 suffered injuries in the incident.
Bomb planter Muzammil Ansari escapes the noose and key accused Saquib Nachan gets 10 years.
Life imprisonment is crucial for the convict to realise the mental and physical pain blasts victims suffered, said the last POTA court on Wednesday while awarding life imprisonment until death to Muzammil Ansari, the bomb planter in the 2002-03 triple blasts case, and two others. Key accused Saquib Nachan got 10 years of jail.
At 11.20am, as special judge PR Deshmukh began handing out the sentences to the 10 convicts, all the pathways leading up to court room no. 55 of the sessions court were filled with scores of men and burkha-clad women — relatives of those awaiting the verdict for the past 13 years.
All the accused stood in the dock meant for them at the far end of the court. Ansari was the last to be called to the box. After reading out the quantum of punishment for all the charges he had been found guilty on, the judge reached the provision prescribing the death sentence but said the case fell short of the ‘rarest of rare’ instances. He sentenced Ansari to imprisonment for the rest of his life for murder, and fined him Rs 39,500.
“I am of the view that if a person is hanged, within a fraction of a second his life comes to an end and he does not realise or feel mental, emotional and physical agony which victims of the crime or dependents of the deceased suffered or will suffer for their entire lives.” special judge Deshmukh said.
The two others sentenced to life are Dr Abdul Wahid, at whose Sakinaka dispensary the bombs were built, and Farhan Khot, who told cops about 250 iron casings — bomb components — hidden in a dry well behind a mosque in Padgha, his native place. Wahid and Khot have been fined Rs 1,40,000 under the Explosives Substance Act, the Arms Act, POTA and for criminal conspiracy.
Nachan, with his relatives Ateef and Hasib Mulla, have been sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment under POTA for possessing AK56 rifles, and have also been fined Rs 1,30,000 each. But they have been acquitted of direct involvement in the blasts. Nachan, still an undertrial in the Manoj Raicha case, and Ateef, who has so far spent only two years and eight months in prison, may not be coming out anytime soon. Mulla, though, will be out after spending the remainder of his sentence.
The rest of the convicts, barring Ansari, were granted bail in 2011, having spent more than 8.5 years in prison.
Mohammed Kamil, Noor Mohammed Ansari and Anwar Ali have been sentenced to two years in jail under the Arms Act and fined Rs 10,000. Mohammed Nadeem Paloba, Haroon Lohar and Adnan Bilal were acquitted of all charges.
Ali, a professor at the National Defense Academy in Pune before his arrest, seemed disappointed with the verdict. “I feel terrible about the eightand-a-half years of my life spent in prison. The minute police officers from Pune were informed about my acquittal on major charges, the harassment started. They have already visited my house twice.” he told Mirror after the verdict.
The judge refused extra compensation for the blasts victims, and ordered that 75% of the fine amount be given to the district legal services authority, and the remaining be paid to Central Railway as compensation, because of the damages it suffered during the attacks.
While closing, he thanked the defence and the prosecution for their help, without which “nothing would be possible”. But for the prosecution, the judgment came with a big setback, since the accused were acquitted of a number of grave charges slapped on them. For instance, Nachan, Ateef and Hasib have been exonerated under all the Indian Penal Code sections and the Explosives Substances Act, which included charges attracting the death penalty.
The others, because of the sections under which they were charged, underwent prolonged detention, for around 8.5 years.
THE BLASTS VERDICT
» Nearly 13 years after the 2002-03 blasts that killed 12 and injured 139, the special Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) court last Tuesday held 10 people, including key accused Saquib Nachan, guilty. The first blast took place on December 6, 2002, at a McDonald's outlet near Mumbai Central Railway Station, in which 27 people were injured.
» On January 27, 2003, a bomb planted on a bicycle exploded opposite the Jawahar Book Depot in Vile Parle, killing one person.
» On March 13, 2003, another bomb exploded in the ladies' compartment of a Karjat-bound fast train as it was approaching Mulund station. As many as 11 people were killed and 71 suffered injuries in the incident.
