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Maharashtra ATS invokes stringent charges of murder in a conspiracy case [Mumbai] [Times of India]
[October 24, 2014]

Maharashtra ATS invokes stringent charges of murder in a conspiracy case [Mumbai] [Times of India]


(Times of India Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) MUMBAI: The state anti terrorism squad (ATS) that arrested 24-year-old software engineer, Anis Ansari, and booked him on "planning to murder" charges for conspiring to bomb an American school in BKC, had taken a U-turn in similar terror cases in the past and even did not arrest those who conspired to kill thousands in various cases.



Ansari is accused of creating fictitious account on the Facebook and chatting jihad and uploading pictures and videos of the Syria crisis and planning to carry attack on American school. The ATS has invoked a section 115 (abetment of offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life-if offence not committed) read with 302 (conspiring to murder) against Ansari.

A retired officer said that when Ansari was allegedly planning to kill someone on social media, he could have been booked for criminal conspiracy. "However, the sections of planning to murder in this case are weird," he added. Another officer in the ATS said that they will tell everything to the court once they file the charge sheet.


Ansari who has been booked under the charges of criminal conspiracy read with IPC section of 302 of murder and information technology act told police that he was indoctrinated hearing the Jihadi lectures of Nouman Ali, Ahmed Farooque and Abu Bakr Bagdadi on the internet.

Interestingly, when the city crime branch in 2008 arrested 21 suspected members of the banned outfit, Indian Muajhideen, for sending terror emails about warning and claiming the Gujarat blasts (that killed over 56), it did not invoked section 115 read with murder charges {planning/conspiring or abeting to kill}. There were two cases of terror emails but the crime branch did not invoke these charges in a single case. Similarly, in 2010, the ATS had registered a case of terror email, sent after the Varanasi bomb blast, however, no such charges were invoked in that case too.

The same agency, again while investigating the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast, had found videographic evidence from one of the accused, Swami Dayanand Pandey, showing a suspect along with a former BJP member of parliament, B L Sharma (Prem), and others conspiring to engineer bomb blasts across the country.

However, no case was made out against Sharma and others for this conspiracy meeting that was held on September 21, 2007 at Nashik in which some of the Malegaon blast accused also took part. Those present in the meeting included one Bhai Dalvi, Ninad Bedekar and Malegaon blast suspects Pandey and Lt Col Prasad Purohit. The meeting was videographed by Pandey using his laptop. In the meeting, Sharma claimed to be a VHP minister. The meeting's CD and transcripts are now part of evidence in the Malegaon bomb blast case with the NIA court. "There should be multiple blasts across the country at the same time,'' Dalvi said in the conspiracy meeting.

When asked about the two cases and nature of planning for terror strike in the country, an ATS officer said, "You cannot compare two different cases. We have made out this case and are going purely by our investigation. We have got evidence that Ansari was in touch with someone through internet (whose identity police claim is not known yet) and was conspiring to kill people. We will present our evidence before the court." In 2008 and against in 2010 ATS had said that it was taking legal opinion about the Nashik conspiracy meeting attended by Sharma, Dalvi and Purohit. However, no action has been taken till date.

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