By IANS,
Mumbai : Five accused in the 2006 Malegaon blast case Friday demanded an inquiry against the Maharashtra Police and Anti-Terrorist Squad officers who had falsely implicated nine Muslim youth in the case, an activist said.
The accused also sought compensation from the state government as they were falsely implicated in the case and spent a long period behind bars, said Jamiat Ulama-e-Maharashtra legal adviser Sharif Shaikh.
The five accused - Noorulhuda Samsodhoha, Shabbir Ahmed Masiullah, Raiss Ahmed Rajjab Ali Mansuri, Mohammed Zahid Abdul Majid and Abrar Ahmed Gulam Ahmed - made the demands in an application seeking discharge from the case after contradictions in the charge-sheets filed by various probe agencies.
The Jamiat moved their discharge application in the designated Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) special court.
The five argued that not only were they falsely implicated in the case, but also their alleged confessional statement which was used as a vital piece of evidence against them was discarded by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) which subsequently took over the probe from the Maharashtra Police and the ATS.
The applications contended that the NIA had concluded that the confessionals were not voluntary and obtained under duress from the accused.
The court has posted the matter for further hearing July 22.
Last month, two others - Mohamed Ali Shaikh and Asif Bashir Shaikh, accused in the same case had moved a discharge plea though they are currently in custody as they are accused in the July 7, 2005 Mumbai serial blasts in trains.
"Soon, we shall file similar discharge appeals for the remaining two accused who are currently enlarged on bail," Shaikh said.
The MCOCA court had granted bail to seven of the total nine accused in the 2006 Malegaon blasts case after the NIA investigated it and submitted a preliminary report in November 2011.
The Sep 8, 2006 blasts in the powerloom town in Nashik district of north Maharashtra had left 35 people dead.
