Acquittal of terror convicts in 2006 Mumbai train bombings raises questions

A tragedy with no closure or justice in sight — that sums up the 2006 Mumbai train bombings, one of the biggest terror attacks on Indian soil. The Bombay High Court has acquitted all 12 convicts, including five who were on death row, stating that the prosecution failed to prove their guilt and it was “hard to believe they committed the crime”. So, who were the perpetrators of the serial blasts that snuffed out the lives of around 190 people? The nation continues to be in the dark. The flawed probe conducted by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has only rubbed salt into the wounds of the hapless families, whose loved ones left home that fateful day but never came back.

The HC overturned a 2015 verdict by a special court set up under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act that had handed the death penalty to five men and life imprisonment to seven others. It’s shocking that the lower court overlooked some obvious lapses: the prosecution did not bring on record the type of bombs used in the attacks; the recovered explosives and circuit boxes were not properly sealed and maintained; and some of the accused were allegedly made to confess under torture. The chargesheet claimed that Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba masterminded the attacks and provided arms and training to the bombers with the help of the banned Students’ Islamic Movement of India. However, the case outcome has put a question mark on the ATS’s credibility. This verdict will embolden Pakistan to cast aspersions on India’s investigative agencies at a time when 26/11 accused Tahawwur Rana is being grilled by the NIA and the Pahalgam probe is in progress.

As far as the 12 acquitted men are concerned, their long ordeal has laid bare gross miscarriage of justice. They were wrongfully kept behind bars and convicted of a crime they didn’t commit. This makes it imperative for Parliament to create a legal framework, as recommended by the Law Commission, to compensate innocent people who suffer at the hands of the State.

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