By TwoCircles.net staff reporter
Barabanki (Uttar Pradesh): In a major relief to the family of two madrasa graduates of Uttar Pradesh who were carrying the charge of serial bombings in court premises, the court of additional district and session judge of Barabanki dropped terrorism charge against them while convicting them on other charges.
Detained in connection with bomb blasts in courts of Varanasi, Lucknow and Faizabad in 2007, Mohammad Tariq Qasimi and Khalid Mujahid, were brought to the court of additional district and session judge of Barabanki on August 29 where the verdict in their cases was delivered, says a report in the Urdu daily Rashtriya Sahara.
The verdict says the allegations of conspiring against the country, stocking weapons, beating up government employees and stopping them from carrying out their duty leveled against the two defendants are insubstantial.
However, the judgment delivered by the additional district and session judge Mr. Raj Kumar II held them convicts of possessing explosives (article 4-5), involvement in illegal activities (article 18, 20) and conspiring against state government (article 121 of IPC).
On the account of their alleged involvement in court bombings, state bar associations had banned lawyers from taking up their cases. So much so that some lawyers who were pleading for them, were beaten up in their offices. Recently the Lucknow Bar Association had recommended to cancel the bar membership of their lawyers
The verdict acquitted them of any crime under article 332, 16 and 124. Both these men were picked up from Azamgarh and Jaunpur respectively at a time when preparations for International Tableeghi Ijtima were on in Sarai Mir last year.