Mumbai train blasts case: Convict seeks inquiry into police report on accused

In another plea last month, Siddiqui, who along with four others was sentenced to death in 2015 by a special court for the train blasts, had also sought a reinvestigation into the case on various grounds claiming that the probe was based on fabricated evidence.

In his communication to authorities including the Union Home Ministry and the special court, Siddiqui has referred to a purported report filed by the Hyderabad police into the suicidal death of Abdul Razzak alias Masood. Razzak had committed suicide in Hyderabad on October 10, 2012.

Siddiqui has cited the police inquiry report submitted before a local court in 2013. The report said that Razzak was booked in the Sai Baba temple trust blast case in 2002 and was arrested in 2005. He was subsequently granted bail in 2007. In a letter in Urdu found in his pocket, the report said, Razzak had written that he was fed up with the police cases against him and felt that there was no possibility to come out of them. He was also told that his name was listed as an absconding accused in the Mumbai train blasts case, the report said. It concluded in the final report that he had committed suicide due to mental stress and that there was no foul play in the death.

Siddiqui has also specifically referred to the deposition of three witnesses, seeking action against them for perjury. One of the witnesses referred to is a man who deposed that he had seen Razzak at the home of convict Faisal Shaikh in 2006 along with three Pakistani men. Two of these men were claimed to have been dead.

Relying on the report, Siddiqui has sought further investigation stating that Razzak was lodged in jail during that period and could not have been in Mumbai or brought Pakistani men to the city. The prosecution had also claimed that Razzak had helped the three Pakistani men enter India from the Gujarat border in 2006.

Before the special court in another plea, the prosecution has been asked to file a reply to Siddiqui’s plea and the case is likely to be heard later this week.

An appeal filed by those convicted in the case is pending before the Bombay HC. Siddiqui has been approaching various fora stating that the investigation has not been proper. The special court in 2015 had concluded that the case where 188 persons had lost their lives fell in the ‘rarest of rare’ category and sentenced five, including Siddiqui, to death penalty.

When contacted, ATS Maharashtra chief Vineet Agarwal, did not respond to messages.