Blast case convict granted one month parole

Coimbatore: I Abu Dhahir, a convict in the 1998 serial bomb blast case, has been granted one month parole on medical grounds. The Madras high court granted the parole to the 35-year-old man —who was a member of the banned Al Umma outfit — from Wednesday to seek treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), an autoimmune disease.
“As per the HC order, we have handed Abu Dhahir to his family,” superintendent of the Coimbatore Central Prison M Senthilkumar told TOI.

Abu Dhahir, who was sentenced to 10 years rigorous imprisonment for his involvement in the serial bomb blast in Coimbatore city, had completed his sentences in the Coimbatore Central Prison in 2008. Meanwhile, the high court’s Madurai bench had sentenced him to life in 2003 for murdering assistant jailor Jayaprakash in Madurai in August 29, 1997.

According to police sources, SLE had affected Abu Dhahir’s heart and kidneys and he was surviving on dialysis. “He was undergoing treatment in the Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) and later in a private hospital before lodged in the Coimbatore prison. He was shifted to CMCH from the prison hospital on November 24, 2011 after his condition worsened. Subsequently, his family had approached the HC seeking treatment in a private hospital. The state government appealed against the petition and a high-level committee and a team of doctors examined Abu Dhahir. They submitted a report in June 2012. After both of his kidneys failed, Abu Dhahir’s health worsened and the CMCH doctors recommended treatment in a specialised centre for kidney transplant. He was admitted in a private hospital in the city in 2012 and his health condition improved. Though the prison department paid Rs 8 lakh for his treatment, the hospital claimed that the cost touched Rs 30 lakh. After the hospital management approached the HC, the court directed the prison department to shift Abu Dhahir to the CMCH from the private hospital,” a police officer said.