By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
Mumbai: Afzal Usmani, the prime accused in 2008 Gujarat serial blasts case, who allegedly escaped from a crowded Mumbai session court on 20 September but was re-captured on October 27 has filed a complaint before MCOCA court on 10 December alleging that he did not escape from the court premises but was actually kidnapped and was put under detention by the Maharashtra ATS.
Afzal Usmani has submitted that complaint letter before special Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act court judge A L Pansare. Usmani was present in the court on Tuesday along with other 22 accused for the framing of charges in IM email hacking case which was related to this phantom organization accepting responsibility of blasts in 2008 Jaipur, Gujarat and Delhi.
After the alleged escape of Afzal Usmani from south Mumbai sessions court, where it was found that even no CCTV camera is installed in the premises, all the terror cases were then shifted to Arthur road jail prison court for better security after representation from ATS.
A lawyer present in court, who is representing some of the accused in this case told TCN that Afzal Usmani kept quiet, and didn’t speak with any accused on that day. “The honourable judge enquired him if he want any government appointed lawyer to defend him but he declined by saying that he has already has appointed Adv. A Q Usmani who was not present in the court. Initially he did not complain or made any oral allegation. He did not even interrupted the court proceedings but once the framing of charges were done and all other accused left the court he looked curious and remained standstill in his position waiting for his lawyer. He even asked another lawyer to make a phone call to his lawyer A Q Usmani but his phone was out of coverage. Ultimately he silently got up from his seat and asked the court sheristedar to pass on the hand written complaint to the judge,” the advocate who was present in the court said on the condition of anonymity.
The said complaint alleges that he did not actually escape from the Mumbai sessions court on 20 September but was kidnapped by officials belonging to state ATS.
According to his complaint, on September 20 in the court he was interacting with his nephew Javed Noorul Hassan as two ATS officers escorted them out of the court premises. Usmani wrote that ATS officers instructed the escort police with him to inform in the court that he had fled.
In the initial statements from the police when Usmani allegedly escaped suggested that he was able to escape from the court as his escort officers left him unattended and they went for some other case inquiry.
Usmani, in his complaint alleged that ATS team from session court in south Mumbai directly took him and his nephew to a farmhouse in Kasara (100 km from Mumbai), adding, “after leaving me there they took my nephew somewhere else”.
According to ATS Usmani’s 19 year old nephew Javed was the key which led them to Usmani at Bharaich near Indo-Nepal Border where he was allegedly re-arrested on October 27 at Rupadia station while he was allegedly crossing the border.
Javed, a teenage slum dweller from Dharawi according to Mahashtra ATS is hard-core IM operative who helped Usmani escape from the court and to reach Bharaich. “Our team learnt that Usmani’s nephew Javed was returning to collect some documents that he had left back at his house in Dharavi. Accordingly we managed to intercept Javed at Kurla on October 25. Based on his questioning we were informed that Afzal was hiding in Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh. The ATS team along with Bahraich police succeeded in nabbing him outside the railway station which is on the Indo-Nepal border” Maharasthra ATS chief Rakesh Maria had told reporters while briefing on the arrest of Afzal Usmani.
Usmani, in his letter rejected ATS chief claims and made his own argument that his nephew was under the custody of ATS since September 20 when agency allegedly orchestrated his escape.
Maharashtra ATS chief, on his part, also failed to explain why IM top leader which their agency claimed could have revived IM operations after Yasin Bhatkal’s arrest chose the same route to escape where his alleged organization’s leaders were arrested hardly a month back.
In his complaint to MCOCA judge, he also claimed that ATS officials visited him quite often at the farmhouse and persistently asked him to become an approver in the case. Even Usmani also alleged that special public prosecutor in this case Raja Thakare also visited him at the ATS farmhouse where Thakare asked him to become approver. Usmani wrote, “Thakare told me that if I become an approver then I will be let off from this case as well as the case of fleeing from the court.”
The entire court room including the honourable judge was surprised by such an allegation. The Judge served a copy of the said complaint to the public prosecutor Raja Thakare and ordered a reply from the state by next hearing on 23 December.
37 year old Afzal Usmani, a native of Azamgarh, was an hotelier by profession in west Mumbai before getting arrested by ATS in August 2008. Usmani was accused of stealing four cars from Navi Mumbai which was later used in Gujarat 2008 bombings which left 56 people dead. His arrest led to what ATS called busting of IM terror module in Maharashtra, 22 Muslim youths from across the state were rounded up and booked in terror related cases.
Earlier, in 2009 he had filed application before the court alleging that he fears for the life of his family and in Aug 2011 his real brother Faiz Usmani found dead in ATS custody where he was summoned for questioning by the anti-terror agency. Although the enquiry held by state CID found that Faiz Usmani died due to brain hemorrhage but not due to physical torture as initially suspected.