Fahim Ansari acquittal exposes shoddy probe

The acquittal of Fahim Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed, co-accused in the 26/11 attack case, has exposed the poor homework and shoddy investigation by the Mumbai crime branch.

The gaping holes in the prosecution’s story were glaring from the beginning and there seemed to be little effort to plug them with evidence later on.

According to the crime branch, in 2007, Ansari did a recce of targets of South Mumbai and prepared a detailed map for the Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). It alleged that Ansari assumed the fake identity of Sahil Pawaskar and enrolled himself in a computer training institute at Fort and allegedly rented a room in Lamington Road.

However, the crime branch was unable to gather or produce original enrolment documents. No attendance sheet was submitted in the court to prove that Ansari ever attended classes at the computer institute. Even the evidence of the estate agent and the alleged landlord of Ansari did not stand in the court as no original document was produced.

The police claimed that Ansari travelled to Kathmandu in February 2007 to hand over the maps to co-accused Ahmed, who in turn gave it to the LeT conspirators. A witness, Nooruddin Shaikh, claims he saw the map changing hands.

One of these maps, according to the crime branch, was found inside the pocket of the trousers of slain Pakistani gunman Abu Ismail. The handwriting on this map was similar to Ansari’s, testified an expert.

The police were unable to prove that Shaikh was in Nepal in February 2007. Shaikh, according to the crime branch, was staying in the residence of one Bharat Thakur in Nepal, but they were unable to trace him.

There are questions on the seized map too. The map was a clean, nearly ironed out one. There was not a drop of blood on it, let alone a wrinkle. The defence, during cross-examination of the panch witnesses who examined Ismail, pointed out that the clothes on him were drenched with blood. It’s impossible that the map could remain spotless and unfolded.

The police said Ansari and Ahmed were the local hands in the case, but when David Headley, the Pakistan-American LeT activist, confessed that he was the one who provided video images to the LeT operatives, the case against them weakened further.

“We’ll wait till we receive a copy of the judgment. After examining it, we will seek legal opinion on the course of action,” said additional commissioner of police, crime Deven Bharti.