http://www.mumbaimirror.com/columns/Prosecute-ATS-for-Malegaon/articleshow/20772410.cms?prtpage=1 Prosecute ATS for Malegaon Mumbai Mirror | Jun 26, 2013 [image: Prosecute ATS for Malegaon] People gather near the Malegaon Chowk blast site *By: Yug Mohit Chaudhry*
*NIA investigation confirms ACP Shengal falsely accused nine innocent men and fabricated evidence.* Friday, September 8, 2006: It was one of the holiest days in the Muslim calendar --Shab-e-Barat - when bombs exploded at the Malegaon Chowk, and in a mosquecemetery compound, during the afternoon prayers. Thirty-one people were killed and 300 suffered injuries in the attacks that visibly targeted Muslims, but the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), in a predetermined manner, immediately blamed Muslim terrorists and arrested nine from the community. This case was transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) which, while investigating the Samjhauta Express blast, had uncovered evidence contradicting the ATS claims. After reinvestigating the Malegaon case, the NIA has confirmed that the ATS fabricated evidence against the accused, and that a Hindu terrorist group had perpetrated the blasts. Had the investigating officer, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Kisan Shengal, succeeded in pulling off this miscarriage of justice, nine innocent people would have possibly been sentenced to death as terrorists, and their families tarnished with this stigma forever. According to the ATS, the blasts were perpetrated by Noorul Huda, Shabbir Masiullah, Raees Mansuri, Dr. Salman Aimi, Dr. Farogh Magdumi, Mohammed Ali Shaikh, Asif Khan, Mohammed Zahid Ansari and Abrar Ahmed. The ATS said that some of them had trained in Pakistani camps and that all had conspired to: *(a) *Wage war against the government. *(b)* Terrorize people through wanton killing and bomb blasts. *(c) *Incite communal riots and disrupt public order. *(d) *Indoctrinate Muslims into terrorist and secessionist ideology. *(e) *Avail assistance from Pakistani terrorists. *The NIA's chargesheet debunks these claims comprehensively.* It states that: *(a) *ATS witnesses for the alleged seizure of the RDX from the accused denied witnessing these events; *(b)* An ATS witness to the alleged seizure of the fake bomb was also shown by the ATS as being present elsewhere simultaneously for the seizure of the deceased's clothes. *(c) *The ATS's key witness denied seeing the accused making the bomb and said that "his statement was recorded under duress". *(d) *An accused, who the ATS claimed had planted a bomb, was in Fulsawangi about 480 kms away at that time, and another who, the ATS claimed procured explosives, sheltered Pakistani terrorists, assembled the bomb, etc, was in jail. *(e) *The blasts were carried outby Lokesh Sharma and others in furtherance of a larger terror conspiracy. The ATS's false accusations, drawing on stock communal stereotypes equating Indian Muslims with anti-national activity, terrorism and Pakistan, display an institutional bias and communal antipathy unbecoming a secular state. They also manifest disrespect for truth and the judicial process, which, in a police force, is extremely worrying since evidence is easily fabricated and lives hang in the balance. Investigation, especially in terrorist cases, must be scrupulously honest, not merely because of accused's rights, but also for our own safety: we have to be sure that the real culprits have been arrested and cannot re-offend. The NIA investigation confirms the belief that even in serious cases evidence is often fabricated, witness testimony coerced, incriminating articles planted, and innocent people falsely accused. Consequently, the administration of justice is brought into disrepute when judicial verdicts are believed to be based on tainted evidence. This has happened in numerous high profile cases, including the Parliament attack case. Dishonest investigation, custodial torture and extra-judicial killings by the police are endemic in India and carried out with impunity: no policeman has been convicted for these offences in Maharashtra for over 15 years. Had a few rogue officers been punished, the ATS may not have dared to fabricate evidence in such an important case. However, courts and governments have routinely condoned these excesses and we have become inured. The Malegaon case, an egregious example, must be the starting point where we show our intolerance for such brazen lawlessness by law enforcers and make an example of them to deter others. The NIA's investigation establishes unequivocally that nine persons, who spent six years in custody, were innocent and were framed by ACP Shengal on a terrorist charge. He planted RDX on them from a private stash, coerced a corroborative statement from a bogus witness and extorted fictitious confessions from them, which collectively would have sufficed to have them convicted and sent to the gallows. They are free today only because the NIA accidentally chanced upon evidence of their innocence. This must never be allowed to recur. ACP Shengal must be suspended forthwith, and departmental and criminal proceedings initiated against him for making false accusations, fabricating evidence on a capital charge and coercing false testimony punishable under sections 193-195A, 197, 199, 211, 220 Indian Penal Code. If he is not prosecuted, other officers will do the same with impunity, and people will lose faith in the administration of justice. For all our sakes, and to maintain the integrity of democratic institutions, it is imperative that the government prosecutes Shengal in a manner that inspires confidence. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
