Mumbai: Believing innocence of their kin, the families of the 12 people convicted by the special court are seeking help of the victims of the 7/11 Mumbai train blasts and their families for the legal battle to be fought in the Bombay High Court.
Accompanied by Abdul Wahid, who has been acquitted by the special court in the verdict pronounced on September 11, Ataurrehman Sheikh, father of Muzammil Sheikh and Faisal Sheikh, met blast victims Abbas Parmar, Zahid and Naseem Shakir Merchant and sought their support in the legal battle.
The families of the convicts also met the family of Parag Sawant - who was injured in the blast but succumbed to his injuries after battling for life for 09 long years.
The families of convicts also gave the victims and their families a 15-page request letter which also described to an extent how the investigating agencies framed their kin in the case.
Though the family of Parag Sawant excused them saying they have already suffered a lot, other victims said they will go through their letter before committing anything.
Earlier, the 12 convicts in an emotional appeal made to the blast victims and their families had said in a letter addressed to them that they were innocent and wrongly framed in the case.
"O Victims of the bomb blasts! after hearing the pronouncement of the judgment you will cheer because you do not know we are innocent", they wrote in the letter, a copy of which is provided to ummid.com by the Jamiat Ulema Legal Cell.
“Your happiness and relief is natural. But we are sorry to say your happiness is fictitious and not real as we twelve are not the murderers of your loved ones but are ourselves victims,” the nine-page letter states.
“Police fabricated evidence against us. Evidences which may prove our innocence, or were either destroyed or covered up to show they arrested the criminals. In reality, the actual criminals are in safe havens, planning their next target,” the letter states.
"We had never injured you nor had killed your near and dear ones. You have to find out whether the ATS caught the real culprits or not", they added.
"O Victims of the bomb blasts! ask the government about our mobile phone records, ask with the agencies like Crime Branch Mumbai, NIA, Special Cell Delhi, Ahmedabad Police, Hyderabad Police that who are behind the blasts of Mumbai in 2006. Ask the government about the real culprits of the blasts", they wrote.
The convicts' letter and appeal by their families to the blast victims came few days ahead of the special court pronounced the punishment of the 12 convicts on September 30.
The Special MCOCA Court awarded death penalty to five and life sentence to seven others, all convicted in the 7/11 serial blasts in Mumbai suburban trains which killed 189 people.
Those awarded the death penalty are: Kamal A. Ansari, 37, Ehtesham Siddiqui, 30, Faisal Attaur Rehman Sheikh, 36, Asif Khan alias Junaid, 38, and Naved Hussain Khan, 30.
The seven other convicts awarded life in jail are: medico Tanvir A. Ansari, 37, Mohammed Sajid Ansari, 34, Sheikh Mohammed Ali Alam Sheikh, 40, Mohammed Majid Shafi, 30, Muzammil Sheikh, 27, Soheil Mohammed Sheikh, 43, and Zamir Ahmed Sheikh, 36.
The convicts have already decided to challenge the Special MCOCA Court verdict in the Bombay High Court.
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