2006 Mumbai train blasts: Confession could haunt cops again

Mumbai: There could have been a twist in the 2006 serial bomb blasts in Mumbai’s suburban local trains in when an alleged Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative Sadiq Israr Shaikh and two others had confessed before the police that they had carried out the blasts. Though the convicts in train blasts case could not benefit from this, however, the defence is hopeful that they still get a chance to prove this fact in the high court.

“It was the Supreme Court which allowed us to examine Sadiq and two other IM operatives as defence witness. These three people had taken the responsibility of train blasts in their confessional statements and their statements were video recorded by the police. Though the state had told the apex court that as per the Evidence Act, the defence can ask self-incriminating questions to these witnesses and they have to give answers but when they stepped in the witness box the trial judge told them that they are not bound to give all answers and hence whenever the defence asked them questions like ‘did you carry out the serial train blasts’ they chose not to answer the question,” said Khan Abdul Wahab, who was defending a few of the train blasts case accused.

He also said, “We will come to know the reasons of conviction only after studying the judgment, but in any case, there is complete possibility of bringing these facts before the high court while arguing the appeal and we are hopeful that the high court will consider these facts.”

While arguing on the quantum of punishment, the special public prosecutor Raja Thakre had also revisited Sadiq’s evidence and had said that the accused, during the trial, were claiming that Indian Mujahideen co-founder Sadik Shaikh carried out the (train blast), but when he was called as a witness it (the claim) fell flat.

Senior police officer Krishpal Raghuvanshi, who was the ATS chief when train blasts convicts were arrested also termed Sadiq’s theory as farce. According to him, even Sadiq was following the al-Qaeda manual which asks its operatives to misguide investigating agencies and courts by making false allegations on police and judicial officials, as well as take responsibility of some crime by someone who was not involved so that the original culprits could be saved.