Mulund blast case: Witnesses turned hostile, says prosecution

The verdict of the Mulund blast case is out, and according to the prosecution, it was a tough case to crack even beyond the investigation stage as it had faced problems like a number of witnesses turning hostile, which made it difficult to prove charges against the accused.

Special public prosecutor Rohini Salian said that the Supreme Court, in the Parliament attack case judgment, had held that the confessional statement of an accused could not be used against co-accused and in this case seven accused had given their confessions and also spoke about the role of the other accused who had not given their confessions.

According to her, the police team that went to Padgha after getting a tip off about suspicious activities of some accused there was attacked by locals at initial stage and had to come back. Later Saquib Nachan had filed a writ petition in the Bombay high court, seeking direction for the police not to crack down on Padgha; however, the state government at that time in its reply informed the court that it suspected the involvement of Nachan in the blasts case and the high court had directed him to surrender before the court. Following court order, Nachan had surrendered in 2003 and was arrested as the first accused in this case.

Ms Salian also said that many witnesses turned hostile and did not support the prosecution, which made it more difficult for it to prove the charges against the accused as the case was based on circumstantial evidence. Despite this, with the help of other witnesses, forensic evidence and confessional statements the prosecution was able to prove its case against most of the accused. The prosecution’s case is that at the instance of Nachan, the accused conspired to kill many Hindu leaders and also cause bomb blasts at several places with the motive to terrorise people. To achieve this target, the accused obtained weapons and explosives. Bombs were assembled at Dr Abdul Wahid’s two clinics in Kurla and Muzammil Ansari and wanted accused Tahir Janab Ansari planted bombs at all the three places.

Janab is alleged to be an expert in making bombs and is said to have been behind several blasts in India. According to Ms Salian, there were many bomb blasts in trains across India in 1993 and Janab was involved in them but till date he could not be arrested.

The accused used to practice shooting firearms at Mahuli Hills and Karva Hills off Padgha. With the help of forensic reports, the prosecution was able to prove that the bullet shells found from those sites matched the AK56 rifles recovered from Nachan, Ateef Mulla and Haseeb Mulla. Other small firearms were also used for practice.

According to the prosecution, an accused, Farhan Khot, had taken the police to a well in Padgha from where as many as 250 iron bomb casings were found and of them two were half-made bombs. Muzammil, who faces the death sentence, is suffering from a throat ailment and was taking medicines for this. His voice is high-pitched, which helped the police identify him.

Muzammil is a mechanical engineer from Malegaon and he had come to Mumbai for job. During his arrest, he was employed with a private company in Andheri and records show that he was absent from duty on all dates of blasts. Even his colleagues used to tease him that whenever he was absent there was some trouble in the city.

According to the prosecution, in Vile Parle, the bomb was planted on a bicycle and market goers had an argument with Muzammil because he was trying to park the cycle in a place that was crowded. These people could identify him because of his voice. Similarly, a few passengers who had an altercation with Muzammil in a local train also identified him because of his voice. All these witnesses approached the police after watching news coverage of the blast.

On Tuesday, before pronouncing the judgment special judge P.R. Deshmukh thanked all the lawyers involved in the trial for their cooperation. The judge said this was a unique and special case which had been pending for 13 years. “To the best of my ability and knowledge I appreciated everything brought on record by the prosecution as well as the defence. This is not the last court; some may be pleased and some may not be pleased with this judgment, but this is my endeavour to give justice,” he said.

After pronouncing the judgment, the court deferred the matter till Tuesday for hearing arguments on quantum of punishment by the defence and prosecution. The convicts will then be given a chance to pray for leniency. The defence lawyer Khan Abdul Wahab, however, requested the court to grant him some more days to argue for Muzammil.

Timeline of events May 2001: Conspirators plan the blasts

December 6, 2002: 25 persons are injured in blast at McDonalds at Mumbai Central station

January 27, 2003: Woman dies and 32 others are injured in blast at Mungibai Market in Vile Parle

March 13, 2003: Blasts in Karjat-bound local train and the bomb go off when the it enters Mulund station. Eleven people die and 82 others are injured

April 3, 2003: Prime accused Saquib Nachan arrested. The rest of the accused are arrested thereafter. The accused challenges POTA in Supreme Court and the trial cannot be started for almost eight years.

June, 19, 2014: Charges are framed against the accused and the trial commences. The prosecution examines 154 witnesses to prove the case. Defence lawyers examine 30 witnesses

Crime & possible punishment The special POTA court while delivering the verdict divided the accused into groups as per their role and the expected sentenced they were facing. Here is the list who is in which list. Saquib Nachan, Ateef Mulla and Hasib Mulla have been convicted under the POTA and Arms Act and they could be sentenced from minimum 10 years upto life imprisonment. Mohamed Kamil, Noor Mohammed Ansari alias Imam alias Sikandar and Anwar Ali Khan were convicted under the Arms Act and are facing maximum punishment of upto 3 years and they have already undergone this period in the prison so the court has not cancelled their bail bond. Gulam Akbar Khotal was convicted under the POTA and Arms Act and is facing punishment 10 years upto life imprisonment. Farhan Khot was convicted under POTA, Explosive Substance Act and the Arms Act and is facing imprisonment from 10 years to life imprisonment.