Court exonerates Salman,frames charges against 13 other accused

“The accused,Salman,is discharged in all the five cases (the FIRs registered in the blast cases) as there is no material on record to prima facie show his role and involvement in the Delhi serial blasts,” Additional Sessions Judge Santosh Snehi Mann said in the order.

The court,however,framed charges against the other 13 accused in the case,noting that prima facie offences punishable under various provisions of the IPC and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act were made out as per the evidence submitted in court. It issued production warrants against all the accused — Mohd Saif,Shakeel,Zeeshan,Zia-Ur-Rehman,Saquib Nisar,Sadique,Kayamuddin Kapadia,Hakim ,M A Peerbhoy,Mubin Kadar Sheikh,Asif,Ismail and Shehzad — so charges could be framed.

“The material on record shows that in furtherance of the criminal conspiracy,an explosive substance was used in the IEDs,five of which exploded and three were defused before the explosion. Therefore,prima facie offences under the Explosive Substances Act is also made out against all the 13 accused with respect to the explosions in Karol Bagh,Barakhamba Road,Central Park and Greater Kailash… and also for unlawful and malicious planting of the IEDs in dustbins at Regal Cinema,Central Park and Children Park at India Gate (these three were defused),” the order read.

The court also charged them under the IT Act for sending terror e-mails to various media organisations after triggering the explosions. “The material shows that serial bomb blasts were caused by the accused under a conspiracy to threaten the unity,integrity,security and sovereignty of India. As a result,many innocent persons died,a lot many had close encounters with death,and massive destruction of property was caused,” noted ASJ Mann.

At least 26 people lost their lives while over 100 were left maimed in the five synchronised bomb blasts that occurred on September 13,2008,at crowded areas like Barakhamba Road,Connaught Place,Karol Bagh and Greater Kailash-I.

The exoneration of Salman has come as a setback to the Special Cell. Salman was arrested by the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of the Uttar Pradesh police from the Nepal border in Siddharthanagar district in March 2010. He was later brought to Delhi by the Special Cell as an accused in the five cases. Seeking custodial interrogation,the police had then claimed before the court that Salman was also involved in the blasts,allegedly carried out by the IM in Jaipur,Ahmedabad,Varanasi and Gorakhpur in 2007-08.