Bomb writing that wasn’t, laptops not seized, only oral testimonies: court dismisses ‘proof’ in Ahmedabad blasts

Among the evidence dismissed by the court in its 7,015-page verdict made public on February 19 included a laminated paper with writing in Urdu which, the prosecution claimed, had “instructions on making a bomb”. A Gujarati translation showed no such instructions. In the case of another accused, draft emails regarding trips to Pakistan were presented as evidence.

The prosecution also submitted as evidence a paper with “writings about Osama Bin Laden”, and witness descriptions of a “bearded man” with a gas cylinder.

All the accused had been held under UAPA, IPC, Arms Act, Explosive Substances Act, Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act and Information Technology Act. Notably, all 78 accused have been found innocent under the IT Act.

Of the 28 acquitted, 17 remain in various prisons on other charges.

The serial blasts struck Ahmedabad on July 26, 2008, killing 56 and leaving 240 injured. Between July 27 and August 9, 29 live bombs were found and defused in Surat.

* Naved Naeemuddin Kadri, 37, resident of Ahmedabad: Out on extended temporary bail since 2018 after being diagnosed with schizophrenia, Kadri was arrested in August 2008. During the trial, a witness testified that Kadri gave her “2 jihadi CDs” prior to the blasts and asked her to destroy the same a week after the attacks. Apart from this testimony, no other oral or documentary evidence was provided against Kadri, the verdict noted.

* Mohammadhabib alias Habib Falahi alias Mohammedtaiyyab Shaikh, 35, from Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh; Dr Ashdullah alias Furkan Abubakr, 36, from Bellary, Karnataka; and Abdul Sattar Razak from Ernakulam, Kerala: They were arraigned as accused on the basis of the confessional statement of Imran Ibrahim Sheikh from Vadodara (who is now on death row).

Prior to the blasts, the accused were said to have taken “terror training” at two camps – Wagamon, Kerala, in December 2007 and Halol, Pavagadh, in January 2008. Imran testified that Razak was present at the Wagamon camp while Dr Abdullah was its “organiser”. The prosecution came up with no other evidence to back this up, leading to their acquittal.

* Umar alias Ashok Kabira, 49, Surendranagar, Gujarat: He submitted in a statement before a magistrate that he was called by Mohammad Usman Mohammad Anis Agarbattiwali (now on death row) for a meeting at “Yakub Memon’s house in Juhapura”. Umar admitted going to the meeting and that “other accused were present and doing jihadi talks”. However, the court noted, the prosecution could not substantiate if he attended the training camps or carried out any acts flowing from that. The court said his presence at Memon’s house was not enough to prove culpability and the prosecution provided no evidence “to prove he had met any of the other co-accused earlier”.

* Salim alias Umar Sipai, 50, Ahmedabad: The prosecution claimed seizure from him of “a stone-made horse like structure” and “a laminated Urdu paper… which allegedly carried instructions on how to make a bomb”. While a Gujarati translation proved this incorrect, no other oral or documentary evidence was presented.

* Riyazuddin Nasir alias Abdul Rehman alias Mohammad Nasiruddin Muslim, 34, Hyderabad: He was called to the Ahmedabad Police Commissioner’s office and asked to log into his email. The ‘drafts’ folder showed emails about coming and going to Pakistan, however the prosecution had no proof to show these emails were terror-related.

* Mubin alias Salman Kadar Shaikh, 37; Mohammad Mansur Peerbhoy, 45, Pune: They were accused of hacking into unsecured wi-fi connections to send emails in the name of the Indian Mujahideen. However, no laptop or computers were seized from them, and no other evidence provided. Days after Peerbhoy was acquitted, his father died of a heart attack.

* Anwar Baagwaan, 38, Hyderabad: The medical student was arraigned as an accused because he and his brother (Aasif alias Hasan Sheikh, now on death row) had rented the flat in Pune which was allegedly used to make bombs. No evidence was provided showing Baagwan stayed at the Pune flat, or any other proof indicting him.

* Mohammad Zahir Ayubbhai Patel, 44, Bharuch: He was held for allegedly planting the bombs in Surat which didn’t go off, after a witness testified seeing his neighbour sell a Reliance gas cylinder to “a bearded man”. The neighbour identified the latter as “Mohammad Zahir”. Another witness said he sold a cycle to Zahir for Rs 500, but failed to identify him in court. Investigators claimed that a search at Zahir’s house had led to “paper cuttings of writing about Osama Bin Laden” and a Reliance gas cylinder book, but nothing that could prove the charges against him.

The court also observed that the Surat bomb attack “did not involve cycle or gas cylinders and no such seizures were made either”.

• Afaak Saiyed, 42, Ranchi: Saiyed lived in Hyderabad at the time of his arrest. A subordinate of Investigating Officer Usha Rada testified, “Usha Rada had instructed to check how many emails A-73 (Afaak) had, and if found to be suspicious, to arrest him.” Afaak was made to log into his email and of another, Abu Faisal, but no email with respect to the blasts was found. The court acquitted him on grounds of “insufficient evidence”.
• Manjar Imam, 46, Ranchi: He submitted before a magistrate court that he had attended the Wagamon camp. The court recorded that he had already been found guilty by a Kerala NIA court for attending the meeting, and that as per CrPC Section 300, a person once convicted cannot be tried for the same offence. No other evidence was provided against Imam.
• E T Sainuddin alias Abdul Sattar alias Salim, Malappuram, Kerala: He lived in Hyderabad at the time of his arrest. He was accused of making the chip of the timer in the bombs, along with his son (Sarkuddin alias Sharif, now on death row). It was the prosecution’s case, relying on an FSL official’s testimony, that when given a paper and pencil, Sainuddin made the circuit of the said timer, and “when given various things, assembled the circuit”. However the court noted there was no evidence with respect to the specific charges and thus acquitted him.