'No evidence', 3 acquitted in 2006 Gujarat station blast case

AHMEDABAD: An Ahmedabad sessions court on Monday acquitted three persons — Mohammed Amir Shaikh , Aquib Saiyed and Aslam Kashmiri — arrested for bomb blast at Kalupur railway station on Feb 18, 2006, citing lack of evidence against them.

However, only Kashmiri, who was taken into custody in 2009, will be released from jail, said defence advocate Khalid Shaikh, adding that Shaikh and Saiyed, who were arrested in 2006, are serving life sentences in Amravati and Ahmedabad jails, respectively, in other cases. The case presented before the court by anti-terrorism squad (ATS) was that a bag with RDX and a timer was planted on Karnavati Express from Mumbai, which exploded at Kalupur station, injuring 10-15 passengers. The bag was placed on the train by a porter on instruction of a railway police constable, Kamlesh Bhagora, who was arraigned as an accused on charges of negligence in duty and for being part of a conspiracy with anti-national elements. However, nothing could be proven against him, and he was acquitted along with another accused in 2013.

Police charged nine with terrorism under provisions of IPC, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Explosives Act. The trial against Shaikh, Saiyed and Kashmiri began on Nov 11, 2016. The prosecution examined 34 witnesses and presented 22 documents to prove the guilt of the accused trio.

However, additional sessions judge S L Thakkar said in his verdict: “...There is no evidence from any witness that suggests the accused played any role in planning or executing the bomb blast. Similarly, the documentary evidence presented by the complainant does not seem to support their allegations.”