Case pertains to unlawful activities across the state and not the 2008 Hubbali blast for the orchestration of which right wing activists were arrested by Karnataka police.
By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
Hubli (Karnataka)/ Kozhikode (Kerala): All 17 suspected members of the banned Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), who were allegedly involved in terror activities across the state, have been acquitted by a court here after the prosecution failed to prove its charges.
The First Additional Sessions and District Court Gopal Krishna Kolli on Thursday passed the order for their acquittal in his 595-page judgement.
Those acquitted are: Raziuddin Naseer, 30, (son of Hyderabad cleric Maulana Nasiruddin); Abubakar Hafiz Hussein, 34 (a Karnataka engineer); Shakil Ahemad Mali, 36; Sabit Shibli, 37; Yahya Kammakutti, 39; Safdar Hussein Nagori, 45; Sadiq Sameer, 40; Akbar Ali Mulla, 35; Kamaruddin Nagori, 41; Mohammad Yasin, 33; Mohammad Ansar, 33; P A Shadhuli, 32; medical students Mohammad Asif, 30; Allah bhaksh Yadwad, 30; Mirza Ahemad Baig, 31, and Homeopath students Asadullah Akhtar, 30, and Manroz Jaman, 39. These men belong to Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
The prosecution failed to prove charges of their links with the banned outfit SIMI, illegal possession of arms and explosives and involvement in unlawful activities, besides under several sections of the Indian Penal Code.
The court ruled that it was acquitting all the accused in the absence of any concrete evidence being brought on record.
Two social activists – Abu Bakr, 62, from Kerala and Abdul Razzak, 60, from Karnataka, had extended legal help and appointed lawyers Sher Ali and Ismail Jalghar to defend the accused. Both the defense lawyers appreciated the acquittal order and said that the prosecution had no evidence to prove the case.
“The court was convinced about their innocence and they were acquitted. It is a remarkable verdict,” Ali said.
Soon after the verdict was pronounced, the parents and relatives of the accused were seen exchanging greetings and expressed gratitude to the lawyers.
Kutubuddin Manroz, father of Manroz Jaman, said: “Finally, truth has prevailed. Of course, we suffered all these years. (But) We are happy our children are free now.”
Speaking with TwoCircles.net, Abu Bakr said, “Many of these acquitted men are also made accused in the 2008 Ahmedabad blast case. The trial in that case is in progress. With this order, four youths – one from Kerala and three from Karnataka – who were accused only in this case, would be released from Hubli prison. Their parents are completing the formalities to get their sons out.”
“We are in touch with Jamiat Ulama-e-Maharashtra that is looking after legal proceedings in Ahmedabad court for all accused and will be asking them to speed up the trial proceedings there too so as to assure early release of the remaining youths,” he added.
The case does not belong to the 2008 Hubli court blast as being reported in the media but it pertains to the unlawful activities as alleged by the Karnataka police, he explained. There was a blast on May 10, 2008 in the Hubli court premises and the Karnataka police had on January 12, 2009 arrested nine Hindu men. Police had seized live bombs, gun powder, lethal weapons, Rs 11 lakh in cash, gold, silver and a motorbike from them.
The arrested were identified as Nagaraj Jambagi, 24, Ramesh Pawar, 24, Basavaraj Diggi, 22, Manjunath Binjawadagi, 19, Deepak Govindakar, 28, Lingaraj Jalgar, 24, Basavaraj Rugi, 20, Hanamant Sainasakali, 22, and Channabasappa Hunasagi, 35, all from Karnataka.
Kerala families happy:
The verdict brought much relief to the three families in Kerala and cheers among the human rights activists.
Yahya Iyash Kammukkutty, hailing from Mukkam in Kozhikode district, was taken into custody from his flat in Bengaluru by a group of officials, who introduced themselves as Intelligence Bureau officials, on February 18, 2008. During the arrest, he was working as a senior architect in a USA-based software company General Electric in Bengaluru. He was later booked under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and sent to Hubli jail. Yahya, who was the pass out of National Institute of Technology, Calicut (NITC), had got selected to TATA Infotech in Bengaluru and was all set to join the company when he was arrested.
Ansar Nadwi, hailing from Aluwa in Eranakulam district, was taken into the custody by Madhya Pradesh police from Indore on March 26, 2008, on the charges of attending the camps of banned SIMI. He was also booked under UAPA and sent to various jails in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
Shibili and Shadhuli, the brothers who belong to Earattupetta in Kottayam district, were arrested on the same charges from Indore.
Yahya will be released soon from the Hubli jail while the other three will have to wait more as they have been accused of involvement in the blast at the Eranakulam Collectorat and Panayikkulam SIMI camp case. The trio is now under trial in Sabarmati jail in Gujarat.
Families of these youths have expressed their gratitude to the human rights activists.
Related:
9 Hindutva extremists held for Hubli court blast