Two found guilty in Kozhikode twin blast case

In the first verdict in the NIA investigated terror case in Kerala, a court on Thursday held suspect LeT militant T. Naseer and another man guilty of offences in the March 3, 2006, twin blasts case in Kozhikode. Justice S. Vijay Kumar said that the CBI Special court has acquitted two other accused. While Abdul Halim got the benefit of doubt, there was no evidence against C. Yusuf. The quantum of punishment will be pronounced on Friday.  The court held that there was sufficient material against Naseer, an accused in 2008 Bangalore blast case, and Shafas found them guilty in the Kozhikode blast case in which two policemen and a porter were injured. NIA had filed the chargesheet in August 2010, against eight men, listing Naseer as the prime accused.

The accused had been charged under various Sections of IPC namely Sce.120B (criminal conspiracy), Sec.153A (promoting enemity between different groups), relevant sections of Unlawful Assembly Prevention Act 1967 and Explosive Substance Act. Nasser is also named as an acused in the burning of a Tamil Nadu State bus in 2005 by suspected PDP activists as a protest against the detention of Naseer in connection with the 1998 Coimbatore bomb blasts which claimed 58 lives and left 200 injured. While on the accused called Fayas was killed in an encounter with security forces in Kashmir, another accused Shammi Firoz was made an approver. Two others who are at abraod have been termed as wanted. Also about 58 prosecution witnesses were examined. There was a strong police protection in the court premises when the judgement was pronounced with media personnel allowed inside court room only with photo identity cards. Meanwhile, on Thursday, the Kerala High Court dismissed a petition by Naseer and other accused for a stay on the pronouncement of the judgement by the NIA court.

Dismissing the petition, a division bench comprising of Justices V. Ram Kumar and P.Q. Barkat Ali said that they are not inclined to accept the submissions made on behalf of the petitioners that the arguments with regard to the subject matter has been referred by the special court. Such submission was denied by NIA counsel.

The Bench held the judgement in the case after trial was the logic conclusion and vacated the earlier stay imposed on pronouncement. The accused has also filed a petition in the High Court, challenging the NIA decision to make Shafas an approver. A single bench on Wednesday had referred the same to a division bench.

Reported by AR