Judge hands man life term: ‘If he can make electricity,he can make bomb’

Additional district judge Mangal Prasad,in his order,said: “In his letters to the court,Matin had written,‘Long ago,I had developed a new technique to generate electricity by properly utilising the laws of physics.’ From this,it is clear that Matin has deep knowledge of physics,and if a man can generate electricity,he can make a bomb with ease. It has been found that after making a bomb,Matin,with the help of co-accused Mohammad Ilyas,tried to create an environment of disharmony and fear (because whatever happens in Delhi/NCR has an immediate impact on the rest of the country). With the intention of causing loss of life,limb and property,he planted a bomb which caused the death of 16 people and injured 48 others.”

The FIR in the case was lodged on the complaint of Hari Niwas Singh,co-driver,who said that the bus left for Roorkee from Delhi with 52 people on board at 3:55 pm on April 27,1996. “On the way,we picked up 14 others from the Mohan Nagar checkpost. After we passed Modinagar police station around 5 pm,there was an explosion in the front section of the bus. Ten people were killed on the spot and several others were injured. The front section was severely damaged,” Singh said.

According to prosecutors,investigating agencies first zeroed in on the role of Mohammad Ilyas based on inputs from informers. “Accused Ilyas was arrested from his residence in Ludhiana. A confessional statement of his was recorded in the presence of his brother and father,of which an audio cassette was made. Informers had told us that Ilyas and Taslim were involved in the crime and had links to terrorist outfit Harkat ul-Ansar,” the prosecution said.

In his defence,Ilyas denied making a confession.

The prosecution said Taslim made Ilyas and Matin meet in Muzaffarnagar. “Taslim’s brother is a teacher of Urdu in Kupwara and through him,Ilyas and Matin met. Matin is a Pakistan national who had come to India to spread terror and for this,after enlisting the help of Ilyas,he planted a bomb on the bus,” the prosecution said.

During his testimony,Matin told the court that he was misled into coming to India by an acquaintance who wanted to steal his money.

In the order,the ADJ said: “The accused told the court that he had come with his friend to the border to attend an engagement ceremony but his friend,who wanted to steal his money,turned him over to Indian securitymen. This does not seem believable as his place of residence in Pakistan is around 100 miles from the Indian border. It was found that he had entered the country to spread terror against the government of India.”