Delhi blasts: Verdict on charges on Jan 17

NEW DELHI: The court of additional sessions judge Santosh Snehi Mann has fixed January 17 for the verdict on framing charges against the suspected Indian Mujahideen terrorists for their alleged involvement in the 2008 serial blasts in the capital that had claimed 26 lives and wounded 135 others. Delhi Police have said they have sufficient evidence to establish their complicity in the blasts.

Concluding the arguments for framing charges against the accused, public prosecutor Rajeev Mohan said the police had “prima facie” evidence to seek their prosecution. Mohan also referred to the transcripts of the tapped conversation of various accused before and after the incident to add weight to the argument.

“The call detail records (CDRs) of accused Shakeel, Saquib Nissar and Atif (who was killed in the Batla House encounter) suggest that they had done a recce of various places in the capital on September 3,” he said. The prosecutor also discussed roles of Saquib, Shahzad and Salman and said they had been part of the larger conspiracy to trigger blasts in the capital.

Earlier, police had claimed they had sufficient evidence in the form of CCTV footage and an auto-rickshaw driver’s identification of one of the accused to initiate trial against the suspected IM terrorists. “It is not that CCTV footage has been created by us; it is part of the exploration of evidence,” the prosecutor said.