> > > > *Jamia Teachers’ Solidarity Association* > > 15th July 2011 > > *Don’t let Mumbai blasts investigations fall victim to prejudice and > shortcuts* > > > > JTSA offers its heartfelt sympathies to the bereaved and the injured in the > Mumbai serial blasts. We sincerely hope that the perpetrators of this > mindless violence will be brought to justice swiftly. There are early > indicators though that this investigation will be marred by prejudiced > investigating agencies. There are news items appearing in various media > outlets which cite the interrogation report of Md. Salman, a supposed > operative of the Indian Mujahideen (IM) to establish that Mumbai was on IM’s > sights. > > > Already we see that, though the Home Ministry has restrained from holding > any group culpable, the investigation is being gently pushed in one > direction. But even if one leaves aside for a moment the criticism that > investigators react in stereotypical ways, their compass needle invariably > pointing towards Azamgarh, there are serious issues arising out of this > reliance on Salman’s interrogation report for getting to the bottom of the > Mumbai serial blasts conspiracy. > > > Recall that Md. Salman, arrested by the Uttar Pradesh ATS from > Siddharthnagar on 6 March 2010, was acquitted in the 2008 Delhi blasts > earlier this year. This acquittal was at the point of charge, even before > the trial proper had begun—which points to the flimsiness of the > prosecution’s case against him. The prosecution had claimed that Salman was > a key member of the IM on the basis of the recoveries they claimed to have > made at the time of his arrest. These were notably: a) A *Fake Passport*: > N*o passport* was ever produced in the court.—only a photocopy with a > false name which gave his age as 27 years was presented. b) *A health card > * from Saudi Arab, which again listed his age as 27 years. > > Acquitting him, the Additional Sessions Judge stated that if Salman had > been arrested in possession of a fake Nepali passport and a health card from > Dubai, these were charges that should be dealt with separately. “How does > that (this evidence) make Salman a conspirator in these cases?” she had > asked the prosecution. > > Not surprisingly, *the police did not book him under the relevant charges > at the time of his arrests, raising the suspicion that these seizures were > never made in the first place, but planted by the police later in order to > mislead the courts about Salman’s age. *Salman’s high school certificate > clearly shows that he was a minor at the time of the Delhi blasts and, even > if accused, ought to have been tried under the Juvenile Justice Act. > > > In an instance, where the courts have thrown out the prosecution’s > ‘evidence’ and where there has been such grave suspicion of fabrication of > evidence, how credible can the interrogation reports of Salman be? Are we > going to go down the same convenient route of usual suspects, easy arrests, > and quick confessions yet again? > > * * > > > > Sd/ > > Manisha Sethi, Sanghamitra Misra, Ahmed Sohaib, Adil Mehdi, Tanweer Fazal, > Ghazi Shahnawaz, Arshad Alam, Farah Farooqi, Anwar Alam, MS BHatt, Azra > Razak, Ambarien Al Qadar, Haris Haq, > > > > > > > >
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