By TwoCircles.net staff Reporter,
Mumbai: Reaching out to the victims of the 7/11 Mumbai train blasts, 12 convicted men have written an open letter to them elaborating their innocence factually and asking them to intercede on their behalf in the Bombay High Court during appeal against conviction.
The MCOC judge Y D Shinde convicted 12 of the 13 accused on September 11 and is now scheduled to announce the quantum of punishment on September 30.
The letter written before sentencing is signed by all the 12 convicts viz. Kamal Ahmed Mohammed Vakil Ansari, Dr Tanveer Ahmed Mohammed Ibrahim Ansari, Mohammed Faisal Ataur Rahman Shaikh, Ehtesham Kutubuddin Siddiqui, Mohammed Majid Mohammed Shafi, Shaikh Mohammed Ali Alam Shaikh, Mohammed Sajid Margub Ansari, Muzammil Ataur Rahman Shaikh, Sohail Mehmood Shaikh, Zameer Ahmed Latifur Rehman Shaikh, Naveed Hussain Khan Rasheed Hussain Khan and Asif Khan.
The 17 page letter signed by all 12 sympathizes with the victims of the July 11, 2006 serial blasts for the loss of their loved ones but emphasizes several times that they are not the ‘real’ culprits and the case was fabricated by Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) and government to cover up their inability in arresting original perpetrators of the attack.
“Your happiness and relief is natural. But we are sorry to say your happiness is fictitious and not real as we twelve are not the murderers of your loved ones but are ourselves victims,” reads letter in the beginning.
The letter also claims ATS officer Vinod Bhat committed suicide as he could not bear pressure of his superiors to falsely implicate innocent men in the case. It also claims that another unanimous officer sent a letter to President of India exposing false investigation conducted by ATS in the case.
“Police fabricated evidence against us. Evidences which may prove our innocence, or were either destroyed or covered up to show they arrested the criminals. In reality, the actual criminals are in safe havens, planning their next target,” the letter states.
Calling themselves victims too as like them, the letter also reads, “We are not terrorists but victims like you. The only difference is, your lives have been ruined by terrorists and ours by terrorists in khaki”.
The letter listed 12 points that raise substantial doubt over ATS investigation. Following are some highlights of these points:
1. It claims, they have proof that police had gone to Bhatkal in Karnataka on July 30, 2006 to arrest Riyaz Bhatkal, alleged founder of Indian Mujahideen, but could not arrest him and to hide their inability they conspired along with government and cooked up a case implicating 13 accused.
2. 13 accused were made scapegoats; their signatures were obtained on already written confessional statements under duress and after subjecting them and their family to torture.
3. Crores of tax payers money was utilized in preparing false evidences and a legal expert team to prepare chargesheet where their own informers were made so called eye witnesses.
4. In 2008 Mumbai crime branch arrested alleged Indian Mujahideen accused who had confessed before magistrate their role in the blasts but they were not made accused in the case as including them in the case was proving ATS investigation wrong and was giving arrested 13 accused a clean chit.
5. It claims Indian government had sent a dossier in February 2010 to Pakistan with a list of terrorists and their cases in which it had said that Riyaz Bhatkal, Iqbal Bhatkal and Dr. Shahnawaz are wanted for 7/11 case but they are no where mentioned in the case chargesheet making it amply clear that the arrested 13 accused in the case are innocent.
6. It claims the ATS chargesheet against them is false as either ATS investigation that earned 12 conviction in the case is wrong or the dossier sent by Indian government to Pakistan is wrong.
In the end, the letter asks them to look into details of the case to check discrepancies in investigation.
“We humbly request you to stand up and try to know the reality. Read the judgment copy, have a look on our defense evidences and documents, our call details and location records of our mobile numbers. You will know that you did not get justice,” the letter adds.
Finally appealing to the victims for help in getting justice before Bombay High Court in an appeal against their conviction and sentencing, the letter says, “We most humbly request you to stand with us in the High Court and make a petition in the Court praying to punish the real culprits and not innocents.”