The lawyer of Aurangabad arms haul convict Zabiuddin Ansari, alias Abu Jundal, has written to the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court alleging that the Superintendent (SP) of Arthur Road Jail is not allowing him to meet his client.
In the letter sent on September 10 and addressed to the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission and the Arthur Road Jail SP as well, Mr. Naqvi has claimed that on August 13, he had visited the jail to collect certified copies of the evidence and the order from his client. However, despite being the advocate on record, jail authorities denied him access to his client citing the lack of court order.
“The jail authorities are purposely not allowing the accused to meet his advocates and [this] is a denial of the right to fair trial, equity and natural justice,” the letter states. It also mentions that Jundal had requested Mr. Naqvi for a meeting.
Speaking to The Hindu , he said, “I made two to three attempts to meet the accused after receiving a letter from him asking for a meeting. They are making it difficult for him to file an appeal in the higher court against his sentence. How will the accused meet his advocate and then file the appeal? I could meet him easily in 2013–14.”
Jundal's name features in several instances of terror, including the 2006 Ahmedabad railway station blast and the German Bakery blast in Pune in 2010 .
He was deported from Saudi Arabia to India in June 2012. According to the police, Jundal went to Pakistan for training in terror tactics the mid-2000s and recruited cadres for the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Indian Mujahideen. He was the Hindi tutor and handler of the 10 terrorists responsible for the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
