5 Malegaon blasts accused file discharge plea

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Five Muslim youth, who spent five-and-a-half years in prison for the 2006 Malegaon bombings, on Friday filed a discharge application before the special MCOCA court. The accused, all on bail, stated that the state ATS has falsely implicated them in the cases.

Advocate Shareef Shaikh, who is representing the accused, filed a discharge application stating that Noor-ul-Huda, Shabbir Masiullah, Raees Rajjab Ali, Zahid Majeed and Abrar Ahmed be discharged from the serial bombing cases.

Citing NIA’s supplementary chargesheet, the application stated, “Baburao Mukhtaji Joshi, in his statement to NIA, said that on October 11, 2006, Huda was taken for narco analysis test to Bangalore, but the police team returned without conducting a narco test.” Two days later, a senior Malegaon police officer asked Joshi to take Huda to Bangalore for narco test. Joshi told NIA that Subodh Jaiswal, additional commissioner of police (ATS) was already present at Bangalore’s FSL, even before they reached. Quoting Joshi from NIA’s report, the application said that when Huda was taken into the laboratory, Jaiswal was present in the lab too, and that Huda’s statement was edited in the lab. “Dr Malini who conducted the test has been suspended since she was practicing on a bogus certificate,” the application said.

The Times of India, July 20, 2013

Chargesheet by NIA illegal, says accused

MALEGAON BLASTS

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The discharge applications filed by two accused in the 2006 Malegaon mosque blasts case was on Saturday opposed by a co-accused, Dhan Singh, who has also challenged the legality of a chargesheet filed against him and three others.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on May 22 filed a chargesheet against four persons suspected to be belonging to a right wing outfit, blaming them to be the engineers of Malegaon serial blasts that killed 31.

While moving the application before the designated judge Y D Shinde, Singh stated that the ‘further investigation’ done by NIA is illegal and bad in law. The NIA is likely to file its reply on July 22.

Shinde terror remark: A trial court has given a last opportunity to a person to file an affidavit to show why he wants the court to summon PM Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi as witnesses in his complaint against Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde for his alleged “Hindu terror” remarks made at Jaipur early this year. TNN

The Times of India, June 30, 2013

PIL seeks info on top police officers

MALEGAON BLASTS

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Muslim-e-Hind, an NGO, filed a PIL in the Bombay high court seeking a first information report, arrest and suspension of several police officers who were directly or indirectly involved in the investigation of 2006 Malegaon serial blasts. The
NGO said that the ATS had falsely implicated nine Muslim youths where as the Hindu hardliners were involved in the blasts.

The PIL has named the then ATS chief K P Raghuvanshi, the then DIG Subodh Kumar Jaiswal and the then Nasik rural SP, Rajvardhan Sinha and urged the HC to instruct the state to set up an SIT to investigate these officers.

The PIL was filed on June 18 and will be heard on June 26. Malegaon residents had raised doubts about the ATS theory that the local youths were responsible for the September 2006 blasts.


The Times of India, June 25, 2013

Code names used during terror training

MALEGAON BLASTS

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Rajendra Chaudhary, a bomb planter in the 2006 Malegaon serial blasts, said all the youths who attended a terror training camp in Madhya Pradesh in January 2006 were given code names by mastermind Sunil Joshi to hide their identities.

In its chargesheet, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) stated that the terror training camp was organized by RSS pracharak Sunil Joshi (murdered in 2007). “Joshi gave me a new name as Samundar. Another participant Kamal Chaowhan was given the coded name of Vijay, Lokesh Sharma was called Ajay, and Joshi himself was called Manoj. This was to hide our identity,” Chaudhary said in his statement.

Chaudhary and three others are behind the bars for their involvement in the 2006 Malegaon blasts.
“We would discuss the atrocities on Hindus by Pakistani Muslims and planned to target Muslims’ places of worship, their institutes, religious processions etc. We took pledge to take revenge,” Chaudhary added.

Dhan Singh — another arrested accused — said they were shown a movie, Black Friday, based on 1993 Mumbai riots and blasts, as part of indoctrination process. “I used to attend my village’s RSS shakha since 2002 where I came in touch with Sunil Joshi. Our only motto was revenge and attack on Muslims,” Singh said.

Singh said that in 2008, on the instructions of wanted accused Ramchandra Kalsangara, he along with one Dinesh had taken a motorcycle to Sendhwa in MP. NIA suspects that the same bike was used in planting bombs in Malegaon in 2008.


The Times of India, June 23, 2013

Malegaon blasts key man was in Mumbai cops’ custody: NIA

Hindu Terrorist Claimed Role In Attack But Was Ignored: Agency

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai:The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has debunked the Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad theory on the 2006 Malegaon blasts and said that the prime conspirator, Shabbir Masiullah, was taken into custody by the Mumbai crime branch before the blasts occurred.

The NIA also said that Zahid Majeed, whom the ATS had named as one of the accused who planted the bombs, was not present on the spot but was in Yavatmal during the time of the blasts.

The ATS had arrested nine Muslim youths for planting the bombs and charged them under attempt to murder, and invoked the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). While seven of the nine men were released on bail after serving over five years in prison, two are still incarcerated as they are accused in the 7/11 Mumbai local train blasts as well.

In its chargesheet, the NIA said its investigations showed that the entire conspiracy was hatched and carried out by Hindu terror operatives. It said the four bombs used to kill 31 people were assembled at Sarvasampann Nagar in Indore and transported to Malegaon in state buses by Manohar Narwaria, Ramchandra Kalsangara, Dhan Singh and Rajendra Chaudhary. Of the four, Kalsangara alias Badal Yadav is absconding.

The NIA, however, has not invoked MCOCA against the Hindu terror operatives, making it easy for the accused to get bail. The NIA said Manohar Narwaria alias Sumer Thakur, Chaudhary, Dhan Singh and Lokesh Sharma along with Kalsangara, Sandeep Dange and Amit Hakla had done a reconnaissance of Malegaon thrice.

“They were making preparatory acts to commit terror acts by arranging and imparting training in operating fire arms and assembling bombs at Bagli, Devas (MP), in 2006 to a group of persons, to commit terror acts at various Muslim religious places in India,” the chargesheet said.

The NIA said the bombs were manufactured by Kalsangara, Dhan Singh, Sharma and Hakla during June and July 2006. “The third recce of Malegaon was done on September 1, 2006, the spot was finalized and the accused decided to plant four bombs. A day before the blasts, Kalsangara, Singh, Narwaria and Chaudhry started from Indore with bombs in state transport buses and reached Malegaon next morning. Four bombs were kept in two metallic boxes covered in two bags,” the chargesheet said.

The agency further said that in Malegaon, Narwaria and Chaudhary bought bicycles in the name of Sumer Thakur and Badal Yadav, respectively. “The bombs were fitted into the cycles at the bus station,” it said.

The NIA said that Narwaria and Kalsangara planted bombs at the Muslim cemetery while Chaudhary and Singh went to Mushawerat chowk with the bomb-laden cycle. After planting the bombs, they boarded a bus to Jalgaon and then to Indore.

In the meantime, Sharma went to Paharganj and made phone calls to some media houses, claiming the blasts were the handiwork of Dharmasena. But he did not get any response, the NIA said.



The Times of India, June 22, 2013

Sadhvi, Aseemanand not named in Malegaon blasts

NIA Charges Four Right-Wingers, ATS Accused Not In Chargesheet

Mateen Hafeez TNN


Four persons linked to ultra right-wing groups were chargesheeted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday for their alleged role in the 2006 Malegaon blasts that killed 31 people. But the names of suspects Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Lt Col Prasad Purohit and Swami Aseemanand are missing from the chargesheet. An official said they don’t have “prosecutable evidence” against them till now.

Rajendra Chaudhary, Dhan Singh and Manohar Singh have been accused of planting the bombs. Lokesh Sharma has been charged with conspiracy and providing logistical support. NIA sources said the bombs were made of locally sourced RDX in another town and brought to Malegaon.

Three persons — Ramchandra Kalsangra alias Ramji, Sandeep Dange and Amit Hakla — are wanted in the case. The five-volume chargesheet has contradicted the state anti-terrorism squad (ATS) theory that 13 Muslim youths were responsible for the blasts near mosques on September 8.

The right-wing role in the Malegaon bombings — in 2006 and later in 2008 — came out after former RSS activist Aseemanand’s confession before a court in Delhi. There was outrage over the ATS investigation after the confession and the Union home ministry asked the NIA to take over the case in 2011.

The NIA has not mentioned any role of the youths described as planters by the ATS in its 4,500-page chargesheet earlier. The ATS had said that the Muslim youths engineered the blasts because they wanted to trigger communal riots. It had showed a Pakistani, Muzammil, as the bomb-maker. The Malegaon youths languished in jail for five and a half years before they were granted bail in November 2011.

In December 2012, the NIA arrested Lokesh Chaudhary, Dhan Singh and Manohar Singh, all residents of Indore in Madhya Pradesh. “Further investigation showed Rajendra Chaudhary, Dhan Singh, Manohar and Kalsangra had planted the four bombs,” said a senior NIA officer. “Our chargesheet is based on prosecutable evidence that we have collected. So far, we have not got prosecutable evidence against the sadhvi, Purohit and Aseemanand and, hence, they have not been named,” added the New Delhi-based officer. The chargesheet was filed in the special court of judge Prithviraj Chavan.

“According to a Supreme Court judgment, courts are duty-bound to consider all reports. We did not speak about the earlier arrests and placed our point before the court that the names of these four accused emerged in our investigation and, hence, they should be tried for the 31 deaths. Now the court will take a view and pass its order. The Malegaon boys, who are out on bail, can file for discharge from the case,” said an NIA source. Dhan Singh was granted bail in a 2008 Malegaon bombing case on Wednesday.

NIA sources said the decision to bomb Malegaon in 2006 was taken by senior right-wingers, including slain RSS pracharak Sunil Joshi,Kalsangra and Sandeep Dange. Kalsangra and Lokesh Sharma recruited Rajendra Chaudhary, Dhan Singh and Manohar Singh. They stayed in Malegaon for two days, surveyed the town and zeroed in on the cemetery area where Muslims came in large numbers for namaz. Initially, they planned to bomb the town in July 2006.

On September 8, Lokesh Sharma drove the team members to Malegaon, where Kalsangra, who brought the bombs, accompanied Dhan Singh, Manohar Singh and Rajendra Chaudhary to place them near Hamidiya Masjid at Bada Qabrastan, where many people had gathered for Shab-e-Baraat, and Mushwerat chowk. Later, Sharma drove the team back to Indore.


THE 2006 EXPLOSIONS TANGLE DECODING THE PROBE

ATS CASE:
In 2006, the ATS arrested nine Muslims, claiming they were members of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). It filed a chargesheet in 54 days, though it had 180 days to do so. SIMI members engineered the bombings to spark ‘communal riots’. Four wanted in the case

20kg RDX for the bombs came from Pakistan and a Pakistani, Muzammil, assembled them in Malegaon. Four bombs exploded, two were hidden by the Malegaon youths

Huda, Raees Ali and Abrar planted a bomb each

Majeed, an imam, travelled from Yavatmal, planted a bomb, and left for his hometown the same day. (About 250 Yavatmal residents filed affidavits, saying Majeed was in town)

Masiullah, a battery shop owner, was part of the conspiracy. (At the time of the blasts, he was in police custody in another case)

NIA CASE:
The bombings were planned and executed by ultra right-wingers
The RDX was procured in India. The explosives were allegedly planted by Ramchandra Kalsangra (wanted), Dhan Singh, Rajendra Chaudhary, and Manohar Singh. Dhan Singh had been arrested for planting bombs on Samjhauta Express and in Malegaon in 2008.
Another Samjhauta blast accused, Lokesh Sharma, provided logistical support
The blasts were masterminded by former RSS pracharak Sunil Joshi, Kalsangra, Sandeep Dange and others. The execution was entrusted to Kalsangra and Sharma
Chaudhary, Dhan Singh and Manohar Singh recced Malegaon, and chose to place bombs near mosques to cause maximum damage

FIVE AGENCIES, THREE CHARGESHEETS
The case was first probed by Malegaon police. Transferred to ATS, which filed a 4,500-page chargesheet in a hurry. After cries of bias, case handed over to CBI, which echoed the ATS in its chargesheet. Later, another CBI team took over. On April 6, 2011, the NIA took over the case

CRY FOR JUSTICE
The Muslim youths picked up by the ATS told TOI that they will file defamation suits and demand a criminal case against the ATS investigators for implicating them and keeping them in jail for over five years. “Once we are discharged, we will take all legal action possible against the ATS investigators,” they said.

TURNING POINT An accused in the Mecca Masjid blast case, Swami Aseemanand, confessed in December 2010 that his accomplices executed the 2006 and 2008 Malegaon blasts. This upended the CBI probe and made it focus on ultra right-wing groups. The Centre transferred the case to NIA



The Times of India, May 23, 2013

NIA chargesheet to debunk ATS claims

Blames 4 Hindu Activists, Not SIMI For Attack

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The country’s premier anti-terror agency is set to file a chargesheet against four ultra-right Hindu activists for carrying out the 2006 Malegaon twin blasts.

The National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) probe has knocked the bottom off the Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad’s (ATS) case that members of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) had carried out the attack. The chargesheet is expected to be filed any time this week.

On September 8, 2006, bombs exploded in Bada Qabristan in Malegaon, when people gather to observe Shab-e-Baraat. At least 37 people died and 297 others were injured.

The NIA, which started the probe in April 2011 on the Union home ministry’s orders, has arrested four men—Dhan Singh, Lokesh Sharma, Manohar Singh and Rajendra Chaudhary. Sandeep Dange, Ramji Kalsangra and Raj Mehul are wanted in the case. The agency claims Chaudhary, Dhan, Manohar and Kalsangra had planted the bombs.

Asenior NIA official in Delhi refused to give more details saying the “case is sensitive”. Sharma, also an accused in the Samjhauta Express blast in 2007, and Chaudhary were members of the Bajrang Dal.

“There cannot be two sets of accused in one crime,” said an NIA officer, adding the agency was examining if there was a larger conspiracy involved. Another officer said the agency may ask the court to dismiss the charges against the nine arrested by the ATS. All were granted bail in November 2011.

On May 10, the NIA recorded the statement of Mohammed Atif, a prime witness in the case. The ATS had claimed that Atif had seen the attackers making the bombs and he hid in the godown of one of the accused. Atif later told a court in his hometown in Uttar Pradesh that he was forced to give the statement.

The NIA claims the decision to bomb the textile town was taken by senior members of the right-wing Hindu module, including former RSS pracharak Sunil Joshi, who was later murdered allegedly by Kalsangra and Dange.

Kalsangra and Sharma were tasked with the execution, and they asked Chaudhary, Dhan Singh and Manohar Singh to plant the bombs.

The agency claims the team first recced Malegaon. On the day of the blasts, Sharma drove the team to Malegaon, where Kalsangra gave them the RDX and clothes to disguise themselves as Muslims. Kalsangra accompanied Dhan, Manohar and Chaudhary to place the bombs on bicycles in Bada Qabristan near Hamidiya mosque. After the blasts, Sharma drove them back to Indore.

The ATS, led by then joint police commissioner K P Raghuvanshi and director inspector general of police Subodh Jaiswal, filed a chargesheet on December 21, 2006. It took them just 54 days to file it; usually it takes up to 180 days in such cases. The CBI, after its own probe, had endorsed the ATS findings.

The NIA, set up in 2009 after the 26/11 terror attacks, focused on Hindu right-wing groups after a confession by Swami Aseemanand, who was arrested in the 2007 Hyderabad Mecca Masjid blast case, it told the court last November. The agency has a Rs 10-lakh reward for Kalsangra and Dange.

2006 MALEGAON BLASTS
ATS CLAIMS IN 2006
The blasts were carried out by Muslim youths in an attempt to spark off communal riots The RDX came from Pakistan and its national, Muzammil, assembled them in Malegaon The bombs were planted by accused Noor-ul-Huda, Raees Ali and Abrar Ahmed
Zahid Majeed, an imam from Yavatmal, planted a bomb and returned the same day.

But around 250 Yavatmal residents filed affidavits saying he was in the town at the time Shabbir Masiullah, a battery shop owner, was part of the conspiracy. But at the time of the blasts, he was in custody of the Mumbai crime branch in another case

THE INCIDENT On September 8, 2006, bombs explode in Bada Qabristan in Malegaon when people gather to observe Shab-e-Baraat, killing 37 and injuring 297 others


THE LEGAL ANGLE
Criminal lawyer Majeed Memon, who has represented several 1993 serial blasts accused, says two ideologically diagonally opposite groups can’t be responsible for a particular terror attack. “The NIA has to discharge the earlier set of boys, who were wrongly believed to be involved.”

NIA CLAIMS IN 2012
The RDX was procured in India. The explosives were allegedly planted by Dhan Singh, Rajender Chaudhary, Ramji Kalsangra and Manohar Singh
Another Samjhauta blast accused, Lokesh Sharma, provided logistical support
The blasts were plotted by former RSS pracharak Sunil Joshi, Kalsangra, Sandeep Dange, and others. Kalsangra and Sharma were tasked with the execution
Chaudhary, Dhan and Manohar recced Malegaon to identify the targets


The Times of India, May 13, 2013

Malegaon blasts: Lens on Hindu, Muslim radicals

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: TheNationalInvestigation Agency (NIA), probing the 2006 Malegaon serial blast cases, may take Abrar Ahmed to Indore and other places to verify if he met some Hindu sadhus and other right wing radicalleaders.
Abrar was earlier arrested for the blasts and has also been named asoneof thebomb planters. He was made approver in the explosion cases. In 2009, he filed an affidavit before the special MCOCA court stating his statement was taken under duress. In his affidavit, Ahmed also stated that he met a few men wholookedlikesadhus.
In 2010, right wing leader, SwamiAseemanand,confessed that his boys had engineered the blasts. After this, the nine Muslim accused including Ahmed were given bail. The NIA now wants to confirm whether some Muslims were hired by the rightwing peoplefor recee.


The Times of India, January 12, 2013

Hope for 9 accused in 2006 Malegaon blasts

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai:The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is soon likely to seek dismissal of charges against the nine men arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in connection with the 2006 Malegaon serial blasts, an officer said.

Handed the blast case in January 2011, the NIA has recently arrested four individuals—Dhan Singh, Lokesh Sharma, Manohar Singh and Rajendra Chaudhary—all alleged to be members of ultraright-wing Hindu groups. According to sources in the agency, Chaudhary, Dhan Singh, Manohar Singh and one Ramji Kalsangra planted the four explosives in Malegaon on September 8, 2006, that killed 37 people and injured another 297.

The recent discoveries of the NIA deflate the earlier claims of the ATS. “There cannot be two sets of accused for one crime,” said an NIA officer. “We have arrested four persons and are now probing a larger conspiracy.” Another NIA officer hinted that the agency is preparing to ask court to dismiss the charges (under section 169 of CrPC) made by the ATS against nine people.

In 2006, the ATS had arrested nine men of the minority community, claiming they were members of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and had a hand in the Malegaon serial blasts. It filed a chargesheet in the case in 54 days, though it could take 180 days. According to it, SIMI members engineered and executed the bombings, with the help of a Pakistani national named Muzammil, to spark “communal riots” in the state.

As it happened, the Maharashtra government transferred the case to the CBI, but the central agency’s first supplementary chargesheet too made assertions similar to the state ATS’. In January 2011, when another CBI team began probing the blasts, it discovered the alleged involvement of radical Hindu nationalist groups. In April 2011, the Union home ministry eventually transferred the case to the NIA.

According to NIA sources, the decision to bomb Malegaon in 2006 was taken by senior functionaries in the group, including former RSS pracharak Sunil Joshi, Kalsangra and Sandeep Dange. Thereafter, Kalsangra and Sharma were tasked with executing the bombings. It was these two who arranged for Chaudhary, Dhan Singh and Manohar Singh.

The team first recced Malegaon to identify targets. On September 8, Sharma drove the team members to Malegaon, where Kalsangra gave them explosives and clothes to make them resemble religious Muslims. Kalsangra accompanied Dhan Singh, Manohar Singh and Chaudhary to place the bombs on bicycles and at other spots near Hamidia mosque at Bada Kabristan, where many people had gathered on the occasion of Shab-e-Baraat. Once the bombs were planted, Sharma drove the team back to Indore. CHANGE IN

COURSECARNAGE | On Sept 8, 2006, four explosives went off in Malegaon, killing 37 and injuring 297. The bombs contained RDX, ammonium nitrate, nitrite and oil fuel

ACCUSED

Noor-ul-Huda (24) | Shabbir Masiullah (34) | Raees Rajjab Ali (35) | Dr Salman Farsi (40) | Dr Farogh Makhdoomi (40) | Mohd Ali Shaikh* (45) | Asif Bashir Khan* (40) | Zahid Majeed (35) | Abrar Ahmed Saeed (35)

* Facing trial in 11/7 train blasts case too

SEVERAL PROBES
Malegaon police started an investigation, but a week later the case was transferred to the ATS

Nine Muslim youths, seven from Malegaon, were arrested and accused of being SIMI
members

Taking 54 days, ATS filed a 4,500-page chargesheet on Dec 21, 2006. Case was handed to the CBI

In Jan 2011, another CBI team sought permission to investigate
Case was transferred to the NIA in Jan 2011

MCOCA court granted bail to the nine accused men in Nov 2011

TURNING POINT An accused in the Mecca Masjid blast case, Swami Aseemanand, confessed in Dec 2010 that his accomplices executed the 2006 and 2008 Malegaon blasts. This upended the CBI probe until then and made it focus on ultra-right-wing Hindu groups. The Centre transferred the case to NIA

ATS CLAIMS IN 2006

The RDX for the bombs came from Pakistan and a Pakistani national, Muzammil, assembled them in Malegaon

A bomb each was planted by Huda, Raees Ali and Abrar

Majeed, an imam, travelled from Yavatmal, planted a bomb, and left for his hometown the same day. (About 250 Yavatmal residents filed affidavits, saying Majeed was in their town)

Masiullah, a battery shop owner, was part of the conspiracy. (At the time of the blasts, he was in police custody in another case)

NIA CLAIMS IN 2012

The RDX was procured in India. The explosives were allegedly planted by Dhan Singh, Rajender Chaudhary, Ramji Kalsangra and Manohar Singh. Dhan Singh was earlier arrested for being a bomb planter in the Samjhauta and Malegaon 2008 attacks

Another Samjhauta blast accused, Lokesh Sharma, provided logistical support

The blasts were ‘green-lighted’ by former RSS pracharak Sunil Joshi, Kalsangra, Sandeep Dange and others. The execution was entrusted to Kalsangra and Sharma

Chaudhary, Dhan Singh and Manohar Singh recced Malegaon to identify the targets


The Times of India, January 7, 2013

One more arrested for 2006 Malegaon serial blasts

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday arrested right wing group member, Lokesh Sharma, for the 2006 Malegaon serial bombings.

Sharma, suspected to have done a recce of Malegaon along with accomplices Dhan Singh, Manohar Singh and Rajendra Chaudhary, was taken into custody from a jail. He was first arrested in 2011 for the 2008 Malegaon bomb blasts. So far, the NIA has arrested Dhan Singh, Manohar,
Rajendra and Sharma for the September 8, 2006 serial blasts that killed 37 in Malegaon.

Earlier, the Maharashtra ATS led by the then joint commissioner K P Raghuvanshi and DIG S K Jaiswal, had arrested nine Muslim youth stating that they had engineered the blasts. However the Malegaon residents said the ATS story was concocted and Muslim boys were not involved. Later the case was handed over to NIA, which arrested saffron brigade members.

The NIA is now looking for accused Sandeep Dange, Ramji Kalsangra and four others in the 2006 Malegaon blast cases.




The Times of India, January, 6, 2012

Malegaon blasts suspects to contest polls on SP ticket

Mateen Hafeez, TNN

MUMBAI: Three suspects in the 2006 Malegaon serial bomb blasts, who are currently out on bail, filed their nomination papers for election to the 80-member Malegaon Municipal Corporation. All three accused will be contesting election on Samajwadi Party ticket. The party has fielded 33 candidates in the election scheduled for April 16.

The suspects include Shabbir Masiullah, Dr Salman Farsi and Zahid Abdul Majeed. Moreover, Farsi's wife Nafeesa, a Unani doctor, has also submitted her nomination papers on the SP ticket. While Masiullah and Farsi were shown as conspirators in the serial bomb blasts cases, Majeed was termed a bomb planter.

The ATS had arrested the three accused in 2006 and chargesheeted them saying they did with the help of a Pakistani national, Muzammil.

However, the serial bomb blasts case took a twist with right wing leader Swami Aseemanand confessing that his men were, in fact, behind the Malegaon blasts and not those caught for it. After being in jail for more than five years, seven accused were granted bail, while two are still behind bars since they were said to be involved in Mumbai's 7/11 train bombing case as well.

At the time of the Malegaon blasts on September 8, 2006, which killed 31, Masiullah was already in Mumbai crime branch's custody in another case. The ATS took him in custody from the crime branch and claimed he had hatched the conspiracy for the blasts.


The Times of India, March 28, 2012

NIA probing Samjhauta suspect role

Samjhauta train bomb planter, Kamal Chauhan

MALEGAON BLAST

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The National Investigation Agency (NIA), probing the Samjhauta train blast case, is now questioning prime suspect Kamal Chauhan to see if he was involved in the 2006 Malegaon mosque blasts that killed 31 people.

Chauhan, an RSS worker who was arrested by the NIA three days ago, has confessed that he had planted bombs on the Samjhauta Express in 2007 after undergoing training in arms and explosives in Haryana and Madhya Pradesh, the agency claimed. Chauhan has been remanded in NIA custody till February 24 for questioning.

Chauhan, along with Ramchandra Kalasangra alias Ramji and Lokesh Sharma, other accused in the case, planted the explosives on the train at Old Delhi. NIA’s special prosecutor R K Handa said. “Ramji is still wanted in the 2006 Malegaon bombing case. The NIA is now quizzing Chauhan to find out if he was aware about the others who had participated in the bombing conspiracy in July 2006,” said a source.

Sources in the security establishment said right-wing groups had planned to carry out their strike in Malegaon during July 2006, two months prior to the serial blasts in the same town. However the perpetrators’ plan did not materialize and the bombs were planted in September, 2006.

“Four RDX bombs exploded on September 8, 2006 killing 38 and injuring 297 others. Our probe has revealed that deceased RSS pracharak Sunil Joshi had visited Malegaon to do a a recce of the Hameediya mosque,” said a source.



The Times of India,February 16, 2012

'Not to question ATS men again in Malegaon probe'

Mateen Hafeez I TNN

MUMBAI: Amid reports that the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) officers who investigated the 2006 Malegaon mosque blasts will be questioned by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for not conducting the probe properly, the NIA has denied all such claims. NIA sources on Monday said the agency has already questioned the ATS officers who were part of the '06 serial blasts probe.

News reports in some regional language newspapers said the NIA will question the ATS officers who investigated the four blasts that took place on September 8, 2006. At least 31 persons were killed and 297 others injured when four bombs, planted in a residential area and within the premises of a cemetery, went off. The bombs contained RDX, ammonium nitrate, nitrite, oil fuel, shrapnel, nuts and bolts.

"We have already questioned the ATS officers who probed the case then. There is no requirement for us to question them now. How can they help us in the probe, if they didn't know who the real culprits are?" said a senior officer from the NIA.

He added that the NIA had recorded the statements of some of the officers on various points like the filing of charge sheet and the fact that chemical analysis reports were not attached with the chargesheets.

"Our investigation is currently going in the right direction. Why would we want to rely on some other organization? Our team is working hard on this case," he added. Nine suspected SIMI members were arrested by the ATS in 2006 and were released on bail in November 2011 after the NIA did not oppose their bail in court.

The NIA, while probing another terror case, allegedly found that some members of a radical right wing group were involved in the Malegaon blasts and not the nine youth caught by the ATS.

This case was probed by various agencies: first by the Malegaon local police, who handed it over to the ATS, later case transferred to the CBI, and then to another CBI team. The NIA took over the case in April last year.


The Times of India, January 31, 2012

Malegaon suspect filed 702 RTI queries in 5 yrs

Farog Makhdoomi (centre) got 50 lakh pages of RTI answers


Mateen Hafeez TNN
Mumbai: Unani doctor Farog Makhdoomi, a 2006 Malegaon bomb blasts suspect, had filed 702 right to Information (RTI) applications during his fiveyear imprisonment in various jails in the state. Makhdoomi, now 38, was released on bail along with six other accused last month. He received 50 lakh pages of RTI answers and references while in jail.

The anti-terrorism squad (ATS) had claimed that Makhdoomi, son of a schoolteacher, was one of the prime conspirators in the blast conspiracy. However, claims by the ATS fell short during the course of investigation after Swami Aseemanand, member of a right wing outfit, confessed to his involvement in the blasts. A medical practitioner by profession, Makhdoomi kept filing RTI applications on various issues like food in the jails, Islamic banking, reservation for Muslims, Sachar commission, Mishra commission, the Indian system of medicine, distant education, etc.

Makhdoomi said, “My first RTI application was about the jail canteen’s food. Edibles worth Rs 40 were being sold for Rs 140. When I tried exposing the corruption in the Arthur Road jail, the then superintendent made our lives miserable.” He added that he did not receive a reply when he asked for the procedure followed for filling up the vacancies at the Malegaon civil hospital. The residents of Malegaon had been demanding that victims of the blasts should be given preference when there are vacancies at the hospital. He has also obtained the records of the detention of a co-accused “which prove that he was detained and kept in custody illegally”.

In February this year, Makhdoomi appeared for the PhD Entrance Test. Having completed his Bachelor of Unani Medicine degree in 1997, Makhdoomi studied for his MA in Urdu while in custody in 2009. He has been securing a first class so far and passed the PhD entrance as well. While in prison, he did his post graduate diploma in disaster management through IGNOU. He was also appointed the coordinator for distant education by the jail authorities and helped 80 inmates appear for various examinations.

Speaking about his applications, he said, “The state textile ministry, with funds of Rs 1,100 crore, announced plans for textile parks in 11 cities but ignored Malegaon, which is the second largest textile centre in the state. I realized this through my applications.”



The Times of India, December 26,2011

‘My father is not a conspirator’

A REUNION TO REMEMBER

Mateen Hafeez & Rebecca Samervel | TNN

Mumbai: “All our relatives have gathered back home in Malegaon to welcome my son. We are just waiting to take him back as soon as he comes out,” said Iqbal Makhdoomi, a senior citizen and father of Dr Farog Makhdoomi, waiting for the gates of the Arthur Road jail to open up on Wednesday.

His son was one of the seven 2006 Malegaon blasts accused who walked out of the Arthur Road and Byculla prisons on Wednesday after being granted bail on November 5.

The seven men came out of the two jails around 5.30pm, much to the delight and relief of the scores of people who had gathered outside. The area around the Arthur Road jail was particularly crowded, with family members of the accused jostling for space with media personnel and curious passersby.

The families had been persistently making the 300-km trip from Malegaon to Mumbai to attend court hearings, never losing faith. On Wednesday, too, that persistence showed as the 63-year-old Iqbal waited outside the jail. Iqbal, a retired schoolteacher, has spent most of his of provident fund money and pension fighting for his son’s release.

Taking time off from school, 13-year-old Osama, who was only eight when his father Raees Ahmed was arrested in 2006, jumped with joy on seeing his father and hugged him. “Our family members have been offering namaaz since morning and my mother has cooked lots and lots of special food.” “No one in our hometown sees my father as a conspirator and I believe he has been falsely implicated by the police,” he added.

Jamil Masiullah, brother of Shabbir Ahmed, said: “We have renovated our house, changed carpets and installed huge lights. We are excited and very happy.”
Fighting off tears, Masood Ahmed, brother of another accused, Dr Salman Farsi, said: “The residents of our town stood by us. We are thankful to the people of Malegaon.”


The Times of India, November 17,2011

5 yrs on, 7 walk out of jail

FREE FOR NOW, BUT LONG WAY TO GO: We Want Our Dignity & Five Years Back, Say 2006 Malegaon Blasts Accused After Being Released On Bail


Mateen Hafeez & Rebecca Samervel | TNN


Wednesday, 5.30pm. Seven men walk out of two Mumbai jails after having spent five years in dark, dingy cells. Free for now, the seven are greeted with hugs, tears, smiles and sweets, as the wait finally ends for them as well as the dozens of people who have lined up to meet them outside the prison gates.

The seven, arrested in 2006 after being accused of planning and executing the Malegaon serial bomb blasts, were recently granted bail by a MCOCA court. “We were framed. We want our dignity and five years back,” a statement by the released men said. The anger at the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) was also evident, with the seven men later alleging that the agency had been biased in its probe.

On September 8, 2006, four bombs went off in Malegaon, killing 31 people and injuring 297.

On Wednesday, six of the accused—Salman Farsi, Mohammed Zahid, Raees Ali, Shabbir Masiullah, Noor-ul-Huda and Dr Farog Makhdoomi—were released from the Arthur Road prison, while Abrar Ahmed stepped out of the Byculla jail.

Two other persons—Mohd Ali Shaikh and Asif Bashir Khan alias Junai—were also granted bail by the MCOCA court, but they would continue to remain behind bars as they are also accused in the 11/7 serial train blasts.

Following their release, all seven men were keen to reach home. But they also knew that the battle was far from over. “I am happy that we have been released. But I will find peace only after I am discharged from the case,” said Farsi, tears in his eyes.

“We want our dignity back. We want an answer as to why the police framed us,” maintained Raees Ali. Zahid said, “The police showed me as a planter, but I was 500 km away from Malegaon. The truth is coming out now.”

“I will be relieved when we are acquitted,” said Masiullah. One of the key questions raised was regarding the ATS’s claims on the involvement of Zahid, an imam from a Yavatmal mosque. The ATS said he planted a bomb in Malegaon and left for Yavatmal the same day. “The distance between the two towns is around 1,000 km. How can you travel 1,000 km in just 12 hours on a state transport bus? The ATS said Zahid was in Malegaon that day and planted the bomb, while more than 250 Yavatmal residents filed affidavits saying Zahid was in Yavatmal on September 8, the day of the blasts,” argued a resident.

Around 500 residents of Malegaon, including politicians, religious leaders, activists, friends and family members of the accused, had been waiting outside the jails, especially Arthur Road, since Wednesday morning. The area around Arthur Road jail witnessed traffic snarls after Jamiat Ulama-E-Maharashtra members assembled to welcome the freed men. Personnel from the N M Joshi Marg police station and the crime branch were called in for bandobast duty even as two armoured vehicles were stationed outside the jail.

Soon after their release, the seven men were taken to the jamiat’s office near Bhendi Bazar. “I am thankful to Allah for this success,” said Gulzar Azmi, general secretary, of the jamiat’s legal cell. “Innocent youths were framed by the ATS and kept in prison for five years.” He also announced that compensation would be sought for the time spent behind bars.

The ATS, then headed by Krish Pal Raghuvanshi, had initially investigated the case and the CBI later took over the probe. The ATS had arrested the nine men claiming that they belonged to the banned SIMI and aided a Pakistani in executing the blasts. The case was transferred to the National Investigation Agency after the probe took a dramatic turn following Swami Aseemanand’s confession that a saffron group was behind the blasts.

The jamiat said it was waiting for the NIA’s progress report.
Minority affairs minister Arif Naseem Khan and Malegaon’s Kul Jamaati Tanzeem had been meeting P Chidambaram and Sonia Gandhi, demanding the release of the nine accused.

BLASTS & AFTER SEPT 8, 2006 | Four RDX bombs go off in Malegaon, killing 31 people and injuring 297

DEC 21, 2006 | ATS files a 4,500-page chargesheet. Case is handed over to CBI the same day
NOV 5, 2011 | MCOCA court grants bail to nine accused
NOV 16, 2011 | Seven walk free, while two others remain in jail as they are accused in 11/7 blasts

THOSE WHO WALKED OUT ON WEDNESDAY
Noor-ul-Huda 24
Shabbir Masiullah 34
Raees Ahmed Rajjab Ali 35
Salman Farsi 40
Farog Makhdoomi 40
Mohammed Zahid Abdul Majeed 35
Abrar Ahmed Saeed 35

TWO WHO REMAINED IN PRISON*
Mohd Ali Shaikh 45 and Asif Bashir Khan alias Junai 40
*Both were earlier arrested in the 11/7 train blasts case


The Times of India, November 17, 2011

RTI: ATS cop sent money to Malegaon blast accused

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: A police constable attached to the Nashik unit of the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) had sent money on three occasions to one of the accused in the 2006 Malegaon bomb blasts in Byculla jail, a RTI query showed. The blast accused, Abrar Ahmed, had turned approver when he received the money but later turned hostile.
Gulzar Azmi, general secretary (legal cell), Jamiat-ul-Ulema, a socio-religious organization, had filed the RTI. In their reply, Byculla jail authorities said that constable Sadashiv Abhimanyu Patil had sent Rs 1,000 each three times between August and November 2008. The trial concerning the blasts that killed 31 people is underway in court.

The Byculla jail authorities in their reply mentioned Patil’s address as 14/501, police headquarters, Gangapur Road, Nashik, from where the money order was sent to the blast accused. Patil disconnected the telephone line when this correspondent disclosed his identity.

Ahmed’s bro complained to court about constable
Mumbai: The state antiterrorism squad’s Nashik unit had investigated the Malegaon blasts case initially and submitted a chargesheet against nine accused. A CBI team which took over the probe also endorsed the ATS findings.

Following petitions by Malegaon residents, another CBI team began the probe afresh and indicated that those arrested may not be involved. By then the National Investigating Agency (NIA) took over and recently told the court that it has no objection in granting them bail.

The court ordered their release on November 5 once they fulfilled the bail conditions. Abrar Ahmed, now 42, had mysteriously disappeared after the September 8, 2006 bomb blasts outside a mosque and in a residential area. Four bombs, made of RDX, were planted on bicycles in Malegaon. After his disappearance, Ahmed’s elder brother, advocate Jaleel Ansari, filed a habeas corpus plea in the special MCOCA court. On the court’s order, the Nashik police produced Ahmed before the court in December 2006. Ahmed, who owned a battery and inverter shop, is accused of conspiracy, assembling and planting the bombs.

Abrar, in an affidavit, in 2009, alleged that he was offered lakhs of rupees to become an approver. “As family members, Ahmed’s relatives would send money to him through money order. But why was a constable, attached to the ATS sending money? For the ATS Ahmed was a terror suspect, so why would the police send money to a man who has been termed as a conspirator, a bomb maker and a planter? A thorough inquiry should be done in this matter to find out who exactly was behind this?” said Azmi, the RTI applicant.

The then ATS chief, K P Raghuvanshi, said he wasn’t aware of the development.
Advocate Ansari said he had earlier complained to the court about Patil. “This constable would come to meet my brother in jail. After Ahmed turned hostile, Patil met him in jail and threatened him with dire consequences.”
He added, “After I complained to the court, an inquiry was set up and the jail authorities were instructed not to allow Patil to meet Ahmed,” said Ansari.
A senior police officer said he was not aware about the outcome of this inquiry.


The Times of India, November 14, 2011

2 accused stay in custody over train blasts case

MALEGAON BLASTS

S Ahmed Ali & Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Although the nine suspects arrested in connection with the 2006 Malegaon blast case were granted bail by the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) earlier this week, the Mumbai crime branch on Friday said two of the suspects — Mohammed Ali Aslam Shaikh Aziz and Asif Khan —would remain in custody as they are wanted in another terror related case. Ali and Khan are also accused in the 11\7 Mumbai serial train blasts case.

Ali is an active member of SIMI and in 2005 and 2006, had sent few SIMI members to Pakistan for arms training. “We had arrested two persons Shabbir Mushirullah and Nafiz Ahmed Ansari, residents of Malegaon in Nashik and Govandi in Eastern suburbs in this case. Moreover, they were associates of Indian Mujaheedin founder member Riyaz Bhatkal,” said the police.


The Times of India, November 12,2 011

Lawyers of accused made 60 trips to court in 5 years

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: “This was our 60th trip to the Mumbai court. Each time we came to the city, we hoped we will be successful in getting the accused out of jail,” said advocate Nihal Ansari, a lawyer in the legal cell of Jamiat-ul-Ulema (Maharashtra) on Saturday after the nine youths arrested in the 2006 Malegaon blasts case got bail.

The Jamiat, the Malegaon Kul Jamaati Tanzeem, an NGO, and the residents of Malegaon had been closely following the blasts case. “We stood united and proved the ATS theory wrong,” said Irfana Hamdani, another lawyer. The lawyers played a major role in securing bail for the nine youth, who they insisted had no role to play in the blasts.

“To prove our point, we had compiled a 380-page factfinding report and submitted it to the first CBI team. However, the CBI did not consider it. Later, we submitted the report to Union home minster P Chidambaram and the NIA. The NIA has been taking our help since it took over the probe,” said advocate S S Shaikh.

Jaleel Ahmed, an advocate and brother of one of the accused, Abrar Ahmed, said his son was kidnapped and beaten up by the ATS in 2009. “We have registered a case with the Nagpada police against the police personnel,” said Jaleel.


The Times of India, November 6, 2011

Are loopholes in ATS investigation showing?

Mateen Hafeez | TNN


The bail granted to nine Malegaon youth has left the Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS) red-faced. Malegaon residents have, over the course of the case, cast doubts over the ATS probe.

The ATS had invoked MCOCA against these accused. “The police had 180 days to file a chargesheet. The agency did it in just 54 days. We don’t understand why the ATS was in a hurry to file it earlier. This raises serious questions on their probe,” said Maulana Abdul Qayyum, a member of Jamiat-ul-Ulema, which bore the legal expenses.

Abdul Malik Bakra, an activist, said the ATS did not even submit the complete forensic and voice sample test reports along with the chargesheet.

K P Raghuvanshi, who was the then ATS chief, was not available for comment.

One of the questions raised is regarding ATS’ claims about involvement of Mohammed Zahid, an imam from a Yavatmal mosque. The ATS said he planted a bomb in Malegaon and left for Yavatmal the same day. “The distance between the two towns is around 1,000 km. How can you travel 1,000 km in just 12 hours in a state transport bus? The ATS said Zahid was in Malegaon on that day and planted the bomb, while more than 250 Yavatmal residents filed affidavits saying Zahid was in Yavatmal on September 8, the day of the blasts,” said a resident.

Thirdly, the police said a Pakistani national, Muzammil, had come to Malegaon and assembled the bombs. But ATS could not provide further information on his visit. Police said that 45 bombs were manufactured in Malegaon. “Surprisingly, they could not recover a single bomb,” another activist said.

Moreover, when the Malegaon blasts took place, Shabbir Masiullah, one of the arrested accused, was already in Mumbai police’s custody, residents said.

2006 MALEGAON BLASTS

September 8, 2006 | Four RDX bombs went off in Malegaon, killing 31 people and injuring 297. The bombs were planted on bicycles and exploded between 1.45pm and 1.55pm. The first three went off outside Hameediya mosque in Bada Qabrastan and the fourth exploded at Mushawerat Chowk in central Malegaon. The bombs contained RDX, ammonium nitrate, nitrite and oil fuel.

December 21, 2006 | The ATS filed a 4,500-page chargesheet against the suspects. The case was handed over to the CBI the same day

PROFILES OF ARRESTED ACCUSED
Noor-ul-Huda (24) Occupation | Labourer Charge | Bomb planter at the mosque

Shabbir Masiullah (34) Occupation | Owner of a battery shop Charge | Conspirator

Raees Ahmed Rajjab Ali (35) Occupation | Masiullah’s brother-in-law, partner in Masiullah’s battery unit Charge | Conspirator and bomb planter

Salman Farsi (40) Occupation | Unani doctor Charge | Conspirator

Farogh Makhdoomi (40) Occupation | Unani doctor Charge | Conspirator

Mohd Ali Shaikh (45), earlier arrested in the 11/7 train blasts case Occupation | A Govandi resident, labourer Charge | Supplying RDX to Malegaon accused

Asif Bashir Khan alias Junai (40), earlier arrested in the 11/7 train blasts case Occupation | A mechanical engineer from Jalgaon Charge | Supplying RDX

Mohd Zahid Abdul Majeed (35) Occupation | Imam Charge | Planter

Abrar Ahmed Saeed (35) Occupation | Powerloom unit owner Charge | Planter


The Times of India, November 6, 2011