Ummid Assistant

Applications open for Manmohan scholarship at Cambridge

Opportunities for Indian students in US

Welcome Guest! You are here: Home » National

Aurangabad arms haul case: Only two witnesses examined in six years

Tuesday March 26, 2013 10:12:28 PM, IANS

Related Article

Aurangabad arms haul

Bombay HC asks Trial Court to explain slow progress

Upset by the slow progress in the Aurangabad arms haul case, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday asked the Special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) Court to file a   »

I

Mumbai: More than six years after the infamous Aurangabad arms haul case was detected, a special court here has examined only two of total 247 witnesses named in the charge-sheet, it came to light here Tuesday.

The matter was brought to the attention of Mumbai High Court's Justice S.C. Dharmadhikari during the bail plea Tuesday of one of the accused, Abdul Azeem A.J. Shaikh, alias Raja, accused of parking a car in which the explosives were loaded, his lawyer Sharif Shaikh said.

"The Bombay High Court has asked the trial court to file a reply within two weeks clarifying why only two witnesses have been examined in six years though the hearing was supposed to be conducted on a day-to-day basis," Shaikh told IANS.

Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) Special Court Judge S.V. Modak is conducting the trial in the May 2006 Aurangabad arms haul case, in which one of the accused is suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba activist, Sayed Zabiuddin Ansari, alias Abu Jundal, who was deported from Saudi Arabia in June 2012.

Five years after the charge-sheet was filed in 2006, in August 2012, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) framed charges against the accused in the case, including Azeem.

Arguing for Azeem's bail, Shaikh, representing the accused on behalf of Jamiat-e-Ulema Maharashtra, said that at this rate, the trial will go on for decades.

The Aurangabad arms haul case was cracked by the ATS when a team of sleuths intercepted a Tata Sumo coming from Manmad and bound for Aurangabad on May 9, 2006.

After a hot chase, police finally managed to intercept it and nab one man, Mohammed Amir Shakil Ahmed, while two others escaped.

A search of the vehicle revealed an arms cache of 10 AK-47 army assault rifles, 40 magazine pouches and 30 kgs black explosives.

Three days later, the ATS intercepted a Tata Indica car without a registration number near Nashik. Subsequent investigations led them to recover two boxes of arms from a gutter on the outskirts of Manmad.

A couple of days later, May 14, 2006, the ATS recovered five computer cabinet boxes from an electrical shop containing five AK-47 rifles, five packs of 100 cartridges, five packs of 20 magazines, and 13 kg of explosive powder.

Azeem contended that his entire role in what later became famous as Aurangabad arms haul case was to help park the empty Tata Indica car in his warehouse, but as its wheel got stuck in the warehouse door, it was taken to another location in a school compound at Ramzanpura and then finally outside a mill in Daregaon.

Shaikh said that in the confessional statements of other accused, they have stated that Azeem helped park the stolen car in his warehouse - which did not constitute an offence under MCOCA - and he had no knowledge that it was used in transporting arms and ammunition.

Accordingly, as no offence has been made out against Azeem by the prosecution in the case, he was entitled to get bail since he has been languishing behind bars for more than six years now.
 
 

 


 

 







 

Home | Top of the Page

Comments

Note: By posting your comments here you agree to the terms and conditions of www.ummid.com

Comments powered by DISQUS

i

More Headlines

Italian foreign minister quits over marines' return

Aurangabad arms haul: HC asks Trial Court to explain slow progress

Woman shot dead by husband outside Delhi Metro station

Nitish beats Narendra Modi in 'pichkari' battle

'750 MW solar power projects in Andhra waiting clearance'

BRICS Bank receives strong support from finance ministers

Arabic domain name .shabaka gets global approval

No IPL in Tamil Nadu if Sri Lankans participate: Jayalalithaa

Bill Gates offers $1 mn for a 'better' condom

Myanmar riot death toll is 40

 

Top Stories

Special courts for Muslims an 'eyewash', say Muslim organisations

Muslims organizations have expressed skepticism over the home ministry's proposal to set up  »

Special courts soon for Muslims arrested in terror related cases: Rahman Khan

Personal law board demands compensation for Muslims acquitted in terror cases

 

  Most Read

Who Will Make Manik Sarkar PM?

Bollywood dream girl Hema Malini, a diehard fan of Modi, often showered accolades for him for his liking of Khichidi. However no one talks about Manik Sarkar as he takes Muri (puffed rice) along with party workers in his party’s  »

Petro Dollar

NRI deposits in Kerala stands at Rs.62,708 crore

The bank deposits by non-resident Indians (NRI) in Kerala stood at Rs.62,708 crore till December 2012, bankers said Tuesday. There are now around three million Keralites who work in foreign countries, close to 90 per cent of them in the Middle East  »

 

  News Pick

Rights Abuse

Tired of hate attacks, Sri Lanka Muslims plead for protection

Facing a new wave of hate attacks, the Muslim community in Sri Lanka has appealed to President Mahinda Rajapaksa to act against extremist Buddhists who have been leading campaigns to inculcate fear and hatred against Muslims, according to  »

BRICS Bank receives strong support from finance ministers

Finance ministers of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa have agreed on a BRICS bank on the lines of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that will address the development needs of emerging  »

Ford apologizes for offensive ad for its India-made car

Manufactured by Ford India in Chennai, Figo is based on the Mark V European Ford Fiesta hatchback. It has been in the export market since March 2010. A new model of the car was released in South Africa in January 2013.  »

First phase of Mataf expansion work will finish in Ramadan

The mataf (circumambulation area around the Holy Kaaba) will have the capacity to hold 105,000 worshippers in an hour with the completion of the first phase of the expansion project during the fasting month of Ramadan  »

 

Picture of the Day

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh being welcomed on his arrival, at King Shaka International airport, to attend the Fifth BRICS Summit, at Durban, South Africa on March 25, 2013.

 

Recommend the story to your friends

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

RSS  |  Contact us

 

| Quick links

News

 

Subscribe to

Ummid Assistant

 

National

Science & Technology

RSS

Scholarships

About us

International

Health

Twitter

Government Schemes

Feedback

Regional

History

Facebook

Education

Register

Politics

Opinion

Newsletter

Contact us

Business

The Funny Side

Education & Career

 

 

Ummid.com: Disclaimer | Terms of Use | Advertise with us | Link Exchange

Ummid.com is part of the Awaz Multimedia & Publications providing World News, News Analysis and Feature Articles on Education, Health. Politics, Technology, Sports, Entertainment, Industry etc. The articles or the views displayed on this website are for public information and in no way describe the editorial views. The users are entitled to use this site subject to the terms and conditions mentioned.

© 2012 Awaz Multimedia & Publications. All rights reserved.