|
Home
Search
Subscribe Online
Archives
About
Us
Cartoons
Online
Book Store
E-Greetings
Jobs @ MG
Advertise
on MG
Our
Team
Contact Us
Muslim
Matrimonials
Our Advertisers
| |
Charges framed in serial blast case
| Coimbatore: The Special Court,
designated to try the Serial Blast cases, on 23 Oct framed charges against
all 167 Al-Umma undertrials. This sets in motion the trial in the most
blood- chilling horror in the history of Tamil Nadu after more than three
years. // The Special Court judge, Mr. A. Selvam, after framing the
charges, adjourned the case to November 27, when the examination of
witnesses is likely to take place. All the accused, including S.A. Batcha,
Mohammed Ansari and Abdul Nasser Madani, were produced before the court,
amid tight security. Riaz-Ur-Rehman, who turned an approver, was also
produced. The charges included pre-planned unlawful assembly with deadly
weapons under Sections 147, 148 and 149 of the IPC, conspiracy (120 B),
murder (302), attempt to murder (307), causing grievous injuries (326),
possession of deadly weapons (427) and offences under various sections of
the Arms Act and the Tamil Nadu Explosives Substances Act. The charges
were read out in the respective languages of the accused which included
Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada. The textile city was ripped by
serial blasts on February 14, 1998, when the Union Home Minister, Mr. L.K.
Advani, was scheduled to campaign here. Apart from claiming 57 lives, it
maimed about 200 persons. The blasts was considered a retaliation by the
Islamic fundamentalists against the lynching of 17 Muslim youths in
Coimbatore on November 30, 1997 close on the heels of the murder of a
traffic constable, R. Selvaraj, by a few Al-Umma cadre. Besides damage to
property, the blasts also affected trade and industry causing a serious
economic setback. The city police, in their encounter with Al-Umma
extremists at Thirumal Street, arrested a few while some were killed. This
was registered as crime no. 151 of the B-1 police station which formed the
genesis of investigation into the serial blasts. The case was subsequently
transferred to the CB-CID which created a Special Investigation Team
(SIT). The SIT sleuths and the special teams of the city police effected
the arrest of a number of ultras which lasted several months. Due to the
laborious exercise required for going ahead with the prosecution, the SIT
detained many of the ultras under the National Security Act and nearly
after one year the chargesheet was filed before the Judicial Magistrate
Court no. 5. The police, who managed to bring 168 to book, are still on
the hunt for three more persons. q |
Subscribe
Now: MG
needs your support
|
