ATS files charge sheet against four in 13/7 case

The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad filed a charge sheet in the July 13, 2011 triple blasts case at the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court here on Friday.

The charge sheet — running into 4,788 pages with the statements of 641 witnesses and 19 eyewitnesses — has been filed against the four arrested accused: Naquee Ahmed Wasi Ahmed Shaikh, 22; Nadeem Akhtar Ashfaque Shaikh, 23; Kawalnayan Wazirchand Pathreja, 46; and Haroon Rashid Naik, 33. The fifth arrested accused, Mohammad Kafil Ansari, has not been included; he will be part of the supplementary charge sheet to be filed soon.

The banned Indian Mujahideen has been identified as the outfit responsible for the blasts that killed 27 people and injured 127 at Opera House, Zaveri Bazar and Kabutar Khana in Dadar. Its heads Riyaz and Yasin Bhatkal, both absconding, have been identified as the key conspirators.

The accused have been charge-sheeted under various sections of the MCOCA, the India Penal Code, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Explosives Act, the Explosives Substances Act and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.

The charge sheet was served on the four who came to court on Friday.

Six persons have been named wanted. They are planters Wakas alias Wakar Ibrahim Sad and Danish alias Tabrez, Muzzafar Kola and Tehseen Akhter Shaikh, besides Riyaz and Yasin.

The improvised explosive device (IED) used by the bombers was assembled in a south Mumbai apartment. “The explosives contained Trinitrotoluene (TNT), ammonium and nitrite and petroleum hydrocarbon oil,” ATS chief Rakesh Maria told a press conference on Friday.

RDX traces were also found in the flat where the perpetrators stayed.

A sizeable amount of CCTV footage forms a crucial part of the evidence submitted to the court in the form of CDs.

“We have 308 hours of CCTV footage from the records of 170 cameras,” Mr. Maria said.

“After the blast, the ATS formed four teams of two officers and six personnel each. Each of the teams worked the area around the blast site within the radius of three-four km, conducting a census of all the shops and establishments having CCTV surveillance. It took us 29 days of work round the clock to get the CCTV evidence. We identified everyone in the frame and zeroed in on the perpetrators,” he said.