By IANS
Hyderabad : The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), a Muslim political party, has decided to challenge the sentencing of 12 people in the murder of former Gujarat home minister Haren Pandya.
MIM leader and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, whose lawyer defended five of the accused who belong to Andhra Pradesh, said Tuesday the POTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act) court's order would be challenged in the high court in Gujarat.
Owaisi pointed out that barring Asghar Ali, a native of Nalgonda town, about 100 km from here, all others had been acquitted in the murder but were found guilty in other cases under the anti-terrorism law POTA and hoped they would get relief in the higher court.
The POTA court in Ahmedabad on Monday had sentenced nine of the accused to life imprisonment. Asghar Ali, the prime accused who had pulled the trigger, will remain in jail till his natural death, while eight were sentenced to life term for 14 years. Pandya was assassinated in broad daylight March 26, 2003, at his residence during a morning walk.
Abdul Rauf, a native of Hyderabad, and Mohammed Shafiuddin, a native of Nalgonda, were sentenced to seven years. Rauf was acquitted in the case of murder of Pandya and attempt to murder of Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Jagdish Tiwari, but found guilty on other charges under POTA while Shafiuddin was sentenced to seven years for attempt to murder.
The verdict has shocked the relatives of the accused.
"My brother is innocent. Sentencing him to seven years is injustice. We will challenge the POTA court order in the high court," said Mohammed Aqeel, brother of Rauf, a native of Saeedabad neighbourhood in Hyderabad.
He said their mother was shocked to learn of the verdict as she was hoping he would be acquitted in all the cases. Aqeel said his brother was arrested merely on suspicion and lodged in Sabarmati Jail in Ahmedabad for the last four years. He said the family was going through mental trauma and financial crisis. Their father was an employee in the animal husbandry department and had died two years ago, while their mother was running from pillar to post for the pension.
Seven of those sentenced in the Pandya case were arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation from Hyderabad and surrounding districts in 2003. They include three natives of Ahmedabad.
Police in Nalgonda said Asghar Ali, son of a former assistant sub-inspector of police, was a small time criminal. He allegedly came in contact with terrorists of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba while in jail and recruited youths from Ahmedabad and Hyderabad for arms training in Pakistan to take revenge for the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat.
Abdul Bari, another youth from Nalgonda, and Iftikharul Hasan Hashmi, a native of Hyderabad, were also arrested in 2003.
The POTA review committee had recommended lifting POTA cases against them. Their bail petitions are pending in the Supreme Court.