With the Bombay High Court on Monday acquitted 12 people for their alleged involvement in the 2006 Mumbai train blast case, one of the acquittees claimed he was being framed by Mumbai Police from the beginning, reported ANI.
Mohammed Sajid Ansari even stated that all the confessions were extracted by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) torturing them and a false narrative was created about the matter. He added that he lost 19 years of his life due to this.
“I have been saying this from the beginning that I am innocent. Police have framed a false case against us. All 13 people who were arrested are innocent. ATS has circulated a false narrative. All our confessions were taken after torturing us. Today, the Bombay High Court has finally pronounced that we are innocent. 19 years of my life have been lost. My daughter and wife have gone through a lot,” Ansari told ANI.
Zamir Ahmed was also one of the accused acquitted by the Bombay High Court. His brother Sarifur Rehman said that while his brother is in Amravati jail, his family has faced a lot of hardships. But they are happy after the Bombay High Court’s decision.
“My brother Zamir Ahmad has been acquitted after 19 years. For the past 19 years, we have faced hardships in court. But today, by the grace of God, we received relief from the high court as my brother was honourably acquitted. We have been saying for 19 years that he is innocent and was falsely implicated. He is currently in Amravati Jail, and everyone at my house is very happy that my brother will be returning soon,” Rehman said.
Earlier in 2015, the trial court convicted all 12 accused for their alleged roles in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts.
The Bombay High Court verdict arrived after 19 years, following a special bench’s ruling that the prosecution’s evidence was not conclusive in convicting the accused. The court then ordered the immediate release of all the accused.
About 2006 Mumbai train blasts:
On the evening of 11 July 2006, bomb blasts took place at seven different places in the Mumbai local trains within just 11 minutes, where 189 people died, while more than 827 passengers were injured.
These bombs were planted in first-class compartments of trains from Churchgate and were exploded near the stations of Matunga Road, Mahim Junction, Bandra, Khar, Jogeshwari, Bhayandar and Borivali.