By TCN Staff Reporter,
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has today granted bail to Delhi based journalist Syed Mohammad Ahmed Kazmi. He was an accused in the February 13, Israeli diplomat’s car attack in the capital.
Speaking to TCN, his son Shauzab Kazmi express his happiness. He said that from the first day they held that his father is innocent, and the SC has upheld that belief. He added, “I believe in the judicial system…. And I am thankful to all those who stood with us.”
Syed Mohammad Ahmed Kazmi [Courtesy: odishaeye.com]
Kazmi, 50, was arrest over two weeks after the attack, on March 6. The police had claimed ‘breakthrough’ in the Embassy car attack case, with his arrest.
However, many in the media fraternity, besides his family, pointed out many loopholes in the case and were left bewildered. Chief Justice Altamas Kabir led bench of the Apex Court granted him and directed him to deposit his passport.
Meanwhile, the ‘Kazmi Solidarity Committee,’ a group of activists, journalists, and academics formed to advocate his release has also welcomed the court’s decision to grant his bail. It, however, criticizsed “the obstructive attitude of the prosecution and the Special Cell of the Delhi Police,” which they pointed out, “have been perversely attempting to keep Kazmi in prison despite their inability to file a charge-sheet within the extended time granted under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.”
Kazmi, a freelance Urdu journalist and an expert on West Asia, was a regular visitor to Iran and other Arab countries, hence an obvious target, many believed.
He was detained from outside the India Islamic Cultural Centre in Lodi Road and charged for conspiracy, along with other suspects under the Unlawful Activity Prevention Act, 1967, by the Special Cell of Delhi Police.
As days passed, police’ claim of breakthrough fell flat. The allegation of unaccounted money in his savings account, suggesting illegal money transfer, was later cleared by family. The money was sent by his eldest son Shauzab, who works in Sharjah.
Kazmi’s family has also accused the Delhi Police of harassing the family members.