Revision petition in blasts case dismissed

By Nirnimesh Kumar

NEW DELHI, APRIL 12.

The Delhi High court has dismissed a revision petition by one of the accused in the Lajpat Nagar blast case challenging the framing of charges against her by a lower court here in November last.

Mr. Justice R.C. Chopra dismissed the application of Farida Dar saying it had no merit.

Trial in the case had been held up following summoning of the case file by the High Court to consider the revision petition.

After a long wait of four years, trial began in the case last year. The blast had claimed 13 lives and injured 38, besides damaging 14 buildings and shops and eight Maruti cars in Lajpat Nagar Central Market here in 1996.

The Additional Sessions Judge, Mr. N.K. Kaushik, framed the charges of criminal conspiracy, murder and attempt to murder against 10 accused. So far, the trial court has recorded eight witnesses in the case.

Farooq, Abdul Gani, Farida Dar, Latif Ahmed Waga, Mohammed Ali Bhatt, Javed Ahmed Khan, Mirza Nissar Hussain, Syed Maqbool Shah, Mirza Iftiqar and Naushad are facing trial in the case.

The conspiracy for the blast had been hatched in Pakistan at the instance of Bilal Ahmed Beg. Colonel Farooq of that country was also actively involved in the conspiracy.

The Intelligence agencies have, in a report last year, identified Farooq as one of the Pakistanis who have been abetting terrorism in India.

The blast had been engineered by a time device in a white Maruti car parked outside a shop of the market during the busy evening hours.

After a few days of the blast, the Jammu & Kashmir Islamic Front had written to various newspapers here taking responsibility for the blast.

The Lajpat Nagar police charge-sheeted 16 accused in the case on May 21, 1996.

The 16 chargesheeted accused are Farooq Ahmed Khan of Anantnag, Farida Dar of Badgam, Mohammed Naushad of Turkman Gate here, Mirza Iftiqar, Mohammed Ali, Latif Ahmed, Mirza Nissar Hussain, Syed Maqbool Shah, Javed Ahmed Khan, all from Srinagar, and Abdul Gani of Doda. Gani has been declared a proclaimed offender by the court.

Besides, the police also named Bilal Ahmed of Srinagar, Jabar alias Mehrazuddin, Riyaz Ahmed, Mohammed Ashraf Bhatt, Javed Karivar and Ibrahim Abdul Razak Miyan in the charge- sheet. Riyaz has in the meantime died.

The case was later committed to the court of the Additional Sessions Judge, Ms. Rekha Khetra Pal, on June 16, 1997.

The argument on charge could not be taken up for long due to the refusal of the Rajasthan police to produce six of the 16 accused persons before the court on one pretext or the other.

These accused were in jail in Rajasthan in connection with other cases.

Ms. Khetra Pal had issued several summons to the city police to ensure production of the accused persons imprisoned in the Bandiqui jail in Rajasthan.

On the Delhi High Court's intervention, Inspector Bhawani Singh of the Rajasthan police produced the accused Abdul Gani alias Asadullah, Mirza Nissar Hussain, Farooq Ahmed, Mohammed Ali Ahmed, Mirza Iftiqar and Javed Khan before the Additional Sessions Judge, Mr. B.S. Mathur, on May 13 who sent them to Tihar jail.

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