2006 Aurangabad arms haul case: MCOCA Court likely to deliver verdict tomorrow

The special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court in Mumbai is likely to deliver the verdict in the 2006 Aurangabad arms haul case on Thursday. The 22 arrested accused in the case include Lashkar-e-Toiba operative and key plotter of the 26/11 terror attack case Sayed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal.

"The court has completed the hearing of final arguments and is likely to give judgement tomorrow," a police officer said.

On May 8, 2006, a Maharashtra ATS team chased a Tata Sumo and an Indica car on Chandwad-Manmad highway near Aurangabad and arrested three terror suspects and seized 30kg of RDX, 10 AK-47 assault rifles and 3,200 bullets. The Indica, allegedly driven by Jundal, managed to give police the slip. Jundal, who hails from Beed district of Maharashtra, drove to Malegaon and a few days later he escaped to Bangladesh from where he fled to Pakistan, according to the state police. He was deported to India from Saudi Arabia in 2012.

The special court framed charges against the 22 arrested accused in August 2013. During the trial, the prosecution examined 100 witnesses while defence lawyers examined 16. The trial was stayed by the Supreme Court for a while after one of the accused challenged constitutional validity of certain provisions of MCOCA. The stay was vacated in 2009. In August last year, the Bombay High Court directed the lower court to expedite the trial.