The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has submitted the voice recordings of approver Abrar Ahmed who later retracted his statement in the 2006 Malegaon bomb blasts case,in which he is allegedly heard discussing the conspiracy of the blast with co-accused minutes before the execution. The CBI is putting up additional evidence in the case since Ahmed has retracted his statement supporting the prosecution,alleging that the statement had been taken under duress. The around 20-page chargesheet details the telephonic conversation between accused Mohammed Abrar Ahmed and Mohammed Zahid,which they had around the time of the blasts on September 8,2006. The samples that form part of the additional evidence have been submitted before the Special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA),but the Supreme Court has stayed the trial after the defence lawyers challenged the application of MCOCA in the case. Malegaon,the Muslim-dominated textile town in the state,was rocked by a series of blasts on September 8,2006. The first two blasts occurred outside the Hamidiya Masjid in a cemetery immediately after the Friday prayers and the next at Mushawerat Chowk located a few hundred metres away. Over 30 were killed and as many as 300 were injured,most of them being the children. Ahmed was among the nine arrested by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). He had earlier agreed to be an approver against eight others detained in the same case but retracted his statement in the court on April 18,2009. Both the accused are now lodged in Arthur Road jail.
