Bail hearing of Malegaon accused postponed

Mateen Hafeez TNN
Mumbai: A special court has adjourned till February 7 the hearing of the bail application of nine suspects arrested for the 2006 Malegaon serial bomb blasts.

The Muslim youths were arrested by the Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS) for conspiracy and planting four RDX bombs in the town on September 8, 2006. But the suspects have all along maintained that they had no role in the blasts and were wrongly framed in the case.

After Swami Aseemanand’s confessional statement that a Hindu right wing group was involved in the blasts, the nine suspects approached the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (Mcoca) court seeking bail. “Based on Aseemanand’s confessional statement, the suspects filed the bail plea. The court has asked us to furnish a certified copy of the confession on February 7,” said advocate Mubin Solkar, who is representing the accused.

“Aseemanand in his confession states how the blast conspiracy was hatched and executed.
“We relied on the confession and submitted a copy, which was available on the Internet. But the court asked us to furnish a certified copy of the confession.”

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a reply in the Mcoca court on Friday, saying that in view of Aseemanand’s confession, the bureau was furthering the investigation after obtaining permission from the court.

“The (nine) accused have not put forward any valid ground for consideration of their bail application and thus it deserves to be rejected,” the CBI said in its reply, adding that it needs more time to investigate the case.

Gulzar Azmi, secretary, legal cell, Jamiat-ul-Ulema, said the organisation was representing the nine accused in the case. “They have been wrongly implicated. We are hoping for speedy bail.”


The Times of India, January 29, 2011