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IM operatives Akhtar, Waqas discharged from court

Court found insufficient evidence against the operatives of banned terror outfit IM; five others charged

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On Friday, a trial court here discharged suspected Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative Tehsin Akhtar and Pakistani national Waqas who with the help of banned terror outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) had allegedly planned to carry out bomb blasts in Delhi in 2012.

A special judge at the Patiala House Court dismissed charges against Akhtar and Waqas alias Zia-ur-Rehman for the lack of evidence however charged five other operatives under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Activites (Prevention) Act. The five accused Imran Khan, Asad Khan, Sayed Feroz, Langde Irfan Mustafa, and Sayed Maqbool have been charged under section 120B of the IPC, sections 16, 18, 18A, 18B and 20 of the UAPA, section 25 of the Arms Act and section 5 of the Explosive Substances Act. The five accused have pleaded not guilty and the trial for their hearing commences on April 28 when the statements of the prosecution witness will be recorded.

Arguing the case, defence counsel MS Khan told the court "there was no material to link Akhtar and Waqas to the banned terror outfit" and there was "no evidence to bear out the allegations."

According to the charge sheet filed against the seven accused, it was revealed that during their investigation, the police found that LeT and IM cadres were co-ordinating through associates based in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. According to the police, Syed Zabiuddin alias Zabi revealed that the banned terror groups had planned major strikes in Delhi and other cities in India. The police also stated that the two accused were following directives given by absconding terrorist Fayaz Kagzi and IM operative Riyaz Bhatkal.

The police went on to state that after carrying out serial blasts in Pune in August 2012, their next target was Delhi. Waqas and Akhtar were apparently in Delhi to help facilitate the Pune module members to carry out blasts but had to abort the plan after some of them were arrested.

In the charge sheet, it was revealed that three of the seven accused wanted vengeance for the 2002 Gujarat riots and hence got in touch with Syed Maqbool (accused of masterminding the Hyderabad blast) who in turn introduced them to Kagzi.

23-year-old Akhtar, a resident of Maniyarpur in Bihar, is suspected to be the youngest operative of the IM and believed to the mastermind behind the 2013 Gaya and the Patna blast where current prime minster Narendra Modi's rally was the target. A highly motivated operative, he is also implicated in various other terror-related cases. Akhtar, the son of a small-time chemist was arrested from the Nepal border in August 2013 and carried a reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head.

Pakistani national Waqas, aged 25, who hails from Toba Tek Singh, Punjab province, entered India in September 2010 and was arrested from the Ajmer railway station with three others in March 2014. Waqas has been implicated in other terror related cases as well.

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