Mumbai, Sep 26 (IANS) Youths from Malegaon who were wrongly accused in the 2006 blast in the Muslim-dominated town in Maharashtra’s Nashik, Thursday questioned the “locus standi” of three other co-accused objecting to their discharge applications before a special court here, their lawyers said.
The youth have moved an application in the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) Special Court seeking dismissal of the applications filed by co-accused Dhan Singh, Lokesh Sharma and Manohar Singh.
Appealing to the court to dismiss the counter-applications, the youth’s lawyers Shahid Nadeem Ansari and Abdul Wahab Khan said that there is no provision in the allow permitting any co-accused to object to a discharge application moved by another accused.
They said that the applications moved by Dhan Singh and others “reeks of ulterior motives and is a feeble attempt to obstruct and confuse the court to come to the true conclusion of the present matter”.
The Malegaon accused are: Noorulhuda Samsodhoha, Shabbir Ahmed Masiullah, Raess Ahmed Rajjab Ali Mansuri, Mohammed Zahid Abdul Majid, Dr.Farogh Makhdumi, Mohammed Shaikh, Asif Shaikh and Abrar Ahmed Gulam Ahmed.
A few weeks ago, they had moved an application seeking discharge from the case in view of the National Investigation Agency’s fresh investigations and charge sheet, exonerating them from the blast case.
The trio – Dhan Singh, Lokesh Sharma and Manohar Singh – however contended there were contradictions in the probes by Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and later the NIA.
The court has now posted the matter for further hearing Oct 18.
On Aug 29, the NIA informed the court that it had no objections to the discharge applications.
On Sep 8, 2006, at least four severe explosions rocked the vicinity of Hamidiya Mosque killing 34 and injuring 300 more.
Shortly afterwards, the Maharashtra Police and ATS conducted the investigations and nabbed nine Muslim youth.
Later investigations proved that the blasts were actually carried out by right-wing Hindu fanatic groups, Ansari said.