By IANS,
Ahmedabad : The crime branch of the Ahmedabad police Wednesday filed a chargesheet against 26 people in connection with the July 26 serial blasts here that killed 57 people and injured over 100.
The 2,000-page chargesheet was filed in the court of Metropolitan Magistrate G.M. Patel after examining 511 witnesses.
The accused include Mufti Abu Basher, Safdar Nagori and Sajid Mansuri, activists of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).
The others named are Arif Kagzi, Usman Agarbattiwala, Yunus Mansuri, Naved Kadri, Javed Sheikh, Abbas Sameja, Aiyaz Sayyad, Salim Sipahi, Umar Kabira, Jahid Sheikh, Imran Sheikh, Iqbal Sheikh, Samsuddin Sheikh, Gyasuddin Sheikh, Hafez Hussain, Imran Ahmed, Sibli Abdul Karim, Kamruddin Nagori, Amil Parvez, Mohammad Ali, Raziuddin Nasir, Atik-ur-Rehman and Mehndi Hassan.
It also lists 50 people, including Riyaz Bhatkal, Iqbal Bhatkal, Danish and Mehboob, as absconders, a crime branch official said.
All the accused have been charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Explosive Substance Act, Damage to Public Property Act, Information Technology Act and also under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including 120(1A) (waging war against the state), 153(A) (creating rift between two communities), 302 (murder) and 307(attempt to murder).
The police needed to file the chargesheet within 90 days of the first arrest in the case, which was on Aug 16 when 10 people were arrested.
At least 57 people were killed in the 22 bomb blasts here within less than two hours on the evening of July 26.
The chargesheet pertains to the blasts at the Civil Hospital, where the maximum number of people – 23 – died, and the L.G. Hospital. Police said there could be supplementary chargesheets.