Reinvestigate Jaipur bomb blasts case, punish cops for 'slipshod' investigation: PUCL

Counterview Desk
Welcoming the judgement of the Rajasthan High court acquitting innocents and rejecting the death penalty in the 2008 Jaipur bomb blasts, which killed 74 people, the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Rajasthan, has demanded fresh investigation and compensation against "wrongful incarceration."
Insisting that the police team fabricated cases against innocents and conducted slipshod investigation in the 2008 Jaipur bomb blasts case, PUCL said in a statement, "Fresh investigation should be ordered to ensure justice to the kin of the 74 killed and 150 injured".
It added, compensation should be given to the "five acquitted for the loss of 15 years of their lives, which they spent in jail as their families suffered the ignominy of association with 'terrorists'."

Text:

The PUCL welcomes the judgment of Justice Pankaj Bhandari and Sameer Jain of the Rajasthan High Court, Jaipur bench, in the Jaipur bomb blast cases. On May 13, 2008, nine synchronous blasts occurred in the state capital in a span of 15 minutes. The judgment delivered today, 29th March, 2023, dealt with 28 cases including four death sentences earlier ordered by a trial court that convicted these men. The High Court acquitted all accused and rejected the death penalty and other punishments given by the special court (bomb blast) to the four: Saifur Rehman, Mohammed Saif, Mohammed Salman and Mohammed Sarwar. The court also rejected the prosecution’s appeal of enhancement of sentence against the four for some of the cases, along with dismissing the appeal of the prosecution against the acquittal of Shahbaz Ahmed by the special court (bomb blast), upholding the special court’s judgment.
The court has rightly identified the numerous flaws in the investigation. The decision of the trial court, based on the chain of circumstances presented by the prosecution, nowhere showed the corresponding evidence, the court said. The judgment talks of gaping holes in the investigation, reiterating the point of slipshod work by the police. In 2008 itself, many civil society organisations raised the issue of false arrests and framing of young men of the Muslim community as terrorists. They also consisted a national tribunal on framing innocents in the Jaipur bomb blasts.
Expressing outrage and calling it shoddy and incomplete, the Rajasthan High Court Jaipur bench came down harshly on the Rajasthan police team responsible for the investigation and ordered the DGP to hold an enquiry and identify the police personnel responsible, adding that the guilty police personnel must face punishment. Taking exception to the prosecution’s case, it also added that the heinous crimes which killed over 74 people should have been properly investigated and impeccable evidence provided so that the guilty were punished. Instead, either the wrong culprits were arrested or if they were indeed culprits, arrests were done sans evidence. Excerpts of the judgement read by the court showed extensive lapses.

PUCL appeals to the State of Rajasthan to not move for stay against the acquittal, instead facilitate release of the four from jail

The PUCL is particularly grateful to the team of lawyers of the five (four convicted and one acquitted), who showed the court the lapses in investigation to substantiate how it was bad in law to accept the conclusions of the investigation. PUCL records its appreciation of the work of senior counsels, Nitya Ramakrishnan, Tridip Pais, and advocates, Mr. Ashok Agarwal Siri Singh, Harsh Bohra, Rajat, Vibhor Jain Mujahid Ahmad, Nishant Vyas, SS Ali and others.

The PUCL demands:

Immediate action against the police who fabricated cases against the five, who spent 15 years in jail due to a delayed trial and a bad judgement of the trial court.
Just compensation from the Government of Rajasthan for the false case, which caused these innocent young men to lose 15 years of life. Their families suffered the stigma of having produced “terrorists”. In 2008 when the four were arrested, except for Shahbaz, all were under twenty-five. Salman had not yet turned 18. The High Court has upheld Salman’s juvenility and calling It erroneous, rejected the order of the additional district judge who set aside the JJ Board order confirming Salman’s age as being under 18 years. For a maximum punishment of 3 years for being a juvenile on conviction, Salman spent 15 years behind bars. It is imperative that all be compensated.
Fresh investigation in the 2008 bomb blast cases so that justice is delivered to the kin of the 74 deceased and the more than 150 injured that ill fateful day.

The PUCL also appeals to the State of Rajasthan to not move for a stay against the acquittal, and instead facilitate the release of the four from jail. Shahbaz was released almost two years ago.
PUCL will offer a more detailed analysis of the judgement once it is uploaded on the Rajasthan High court website.

Comments

Anonymous said…

Shameless Bigoted Marxist Jihadist Mob victim-shaming hindus

April 27, 2023

Green Revolution’s reliance on chemical fertilizers, pesticides contributing to Punjab's health crisis

By Bharat Dogra, Jagmohan Singh* Punjab was once synonymous with robust health, particularly in its rural areas, where farmers were known for their strength and vitality. However, in recent years, reports from these villages tell a different story, with rising cases of serious health issues, including cancer. What led to this decline? The answer lies largely in the erosion of good nutrition, once a hallmark of Punjabi village life. The health of a population is closely tied to its nutrition, and Punjab's reputation as a provider of high-quality nutrition has suffered greatly. The loss of biodiversity in agriculture has led to a decrease in the variety and quality of crops, resulting in poorer nutrition. Pulses, a key source of protein, have seen a steep decline in cultivation due to the disruption of traditional farming practices by the Green Revolution. This has had a detrimental effect on both soil and human health. Although pulses are still available in the market, they are exp

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Will Left victory in Sri Lanka deliver economic sovereignty plan, go beyond 'tired' IMF agenda?

By Atul Chandra, Vijay Prashad* On September 22, 2024, the Sri Lankan election authority announced that Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) alliance won the presidential election. Dissanayake, who has been the leader of the left-wing JVP since 2014, defeated 37 other candidates, including the incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe of the United National Party (UNP) and his closest challenger Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya.

Bid to isolate India globally 'to drive it even closer' to long-time ally, Russia

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The relationship between India and Canada has plunged to unprecedented lows, with both governments seemingly exploiting the situation for their domestic political gains. Canada has long been home to several anti-India elements, with little action taken against them. When Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated on October 31, 1984, some of these secessionist groups openly celebrated and issued further threats, particularly from Canada and Britain. While Britain eventually acted to contain such elements in the interest of maintaining ties with India, Canada did not. Over the years, India has sought the extradition of 23 criminals residing in Canada, but the Canadian government has mostly dismissed these requests, claiming these individuals have no criminal records in their country.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual.

Will Bangladesh go Egypt way, where military ruler is in power for a decade?

By Vijay Prashad* The day after former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka, I was on the phone with a friend who had spent some time on the streets that day. He told me about the atmosphere in Dhaka, how people with little previous political experience had joined in the large protests alongside the students—who seemed to be leading the agitation. I asked him about the political infrastructure of the students and about their political orientation. He said that the protests seemed well-organized and that the students had escalated their demands from an end to certain quotas for government jobs to an end to the government of Sheikh Hasina. Even hours before she left the country, it did not seem that this would be the outcome.

Influence of mining corporations on policy makers 'leading to' erosion of democracy in Odisha

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak* Odisha is rich in high-quality natural resources, including iron, bauxite, chromite, and manganese ore, as well as a variety of other valuable minerals like coal, limestone, dolomite, tin, nickel, vanadium, lead, graphite, gold, and gemstones. This resource-laden state is responsible for 57% of India’s iron ore production, hosting over 60 operational mines and more than 150 square kilometers under exploration for further mineral deposits.

How pseudo-liberals 'went wrong' in judging DY Chandrachud as Chief Justice India

By Shamsul Islam* DY Chandrachud took charge as Chief Justice of the Indian Supreme Court (SC) on November 09, 2022. On this occasion many of the pseudo-liberals who claimed to be defenders of the democratic-secular polity of India manifested great happiness. They declared that the time of SC being an appendage of the RSS-BJP government headed by PM Modi was over as Justice Chandrachud was a liberal judge committed to the democratic-secular polity of India.

NHRC failing to 'effectively address' human rights violations: NGO groups tell UN-linked body

By Rajiv Shah In a joint submission to the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions' (GANHRI's) Sub Committee on Accreditation (SCA), two civil society groups -- All India Network of NGOs and Individuals working with National and State Human Rights Institutions (AiNNI) and Asian NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI) -- have said that the National Human Rights Commission's (NHRC's) accreditation, deferred in 2016, 2023, and 2024, fails to find space on its website.

Search This Blog