7/11 accused seek transfer of case to another court

Mumbai, August 6: Special MCOCA Judge Mrudula Bhatkar on Monday read out charges against the 13 accused in the 7/11 blasts case, even as they moved applications seeking transfer of the case to another court. They said they did not have faith in the court and would not take part in the proceedings.

Judge Bhatkar sent the applications seeking the transfer of case to court of Principal Judge Ashok Bhangale. Judge Bhatkar adjourned the framing of charges against the 13 accused till Tuesday as Mohammed Majid Ansari, who hails from Kolkata, pleaded that he didn't understand Hindi well and an Urdu translator was not available on Monday.

Judge Bhatkar heard the arguments of both the prosecution and the defence and then began to read out the draft charges against the accused. The court clerk then read out 32 charges against the accused in Hindi — falling under various sections of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Indian Railways Act, Explosives Act and some other Acts.

Accused Asif Khan Bashir Khan alias Junaid said, "These are serious offences. We have been framed because the ATS did not get the real accused. Give us a month's time to explain all this."

When Judge Bhatkar said that he should talk to his lawyer, Junaid said, "I withdraw my lawyer. In fact, all of us withdraw our lawyers." He then passed on his application seeking the transfer of case to another judge to Kamal Ansari, accused No 1, who pushed it on to Judge Bhatkar's table.

After the charges were read out, Judge Bhatkar called each of the accused to the dock asking them if they pleaded guilty or not. Kamal Ansari said, "I hail from a place (Madhubani, Bihar) where our culture does not permit us to indulge in such (terrorist) activities." Dr Tanvir said, "I have no faith in the court. I want the case to be transferred to another court." When the Judge again asked him whether he pleaded guilty or not, Tanvir said, "Not guilty."

Ehteshaam Siddiqui, another accused, told the judge, "We are not participating in the proceedings. We have complained about so many problems but you do not take any action. You have made up your mind." One by one, 12 accused made similar allegations. Only Zameer Shaikh said "not guilty".

When Judge Bhatkar told the accused to sit on the bench at the back of the court, Siddiqui protested and said, "I will not sit in the dock. I told you I don't want to participate in legal proceedings."

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