The Maharashtra government has approached the Supreme Court challenging the Bombay high court’s decision of acquitting Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed in the 26/11 terror attack case, three months after the two were acquitted due to lack of evidence.
Senior government sources privy to the case said an appeal has been filed with the Supreme Court claiming that the trial court and the high court had erred in its judgment of acquitting them despite evidence to suggest that the two were involved.
The prosecution team of the Maharashtra government led by Ujwal Nikkam was left embarrassed on two occasions in the trial and the high court, when evidence submitted by the police was rejected. The Bombay high court had on February 21 this year acquitted Faheem and Sabauddin, accused of being co-conspirators and aiding and abetting terror outfit LeT in conducting the dastardly attacks.
The duo were in May last year acquitted by the trial court due to lack of evidence.
According to the police, Faheem and Sabauddin had prepared maps of several vital locations of Mumbai and handed it over to LeT members who had planned the attack. The claims of police fell on its face after revelations of Pakistani-American Lashkar terrorist David Headley. His arrest and subsequent statement had punctured police theory of criminal conspiracy involving only Ansari and Sabauddin.
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Sonia Gandhi condemns Dey’s murder
Age Correspondent
New Delhi
June 12: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday expressed shock over the killing of senior journalist Jyotirmoy Dey in Mumbai and asked the party’s government in Maharashtra to leave “no stone unturned” to apprehend the culprits.
In a message, Mrs Gandhi expressed “shock and dismay” over Dey’s killing in broad daylight and said that such “dastardly acts” will not be tolerated in civilised society.
Mrs Gandhi said that she was confident that the state government led by senior party leader Prithviraj Chavan will act fast and decisively and leave no stone unturned to investigate the murder.
The 56-year-old senior investigative journalist, who extensively covered underworld and crime for over two decades, was shot dead on Saturday by four motorcycle-borne persons in Mumbai’s suburban Powai.