A Pakistani and two Kashmiris arrested in April 2007 for allegedly plotting to carry out blasts in Delhi have objected to the recent remarks of a special Pota judge, who likened them to Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone gunman caught alive during last year’s 26/11 strikes on Mumbai.
The suspected Laskhar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists — Mohd Hassan from Mandi district of Punjab, Pakistan, and Shafaquat Iqbal and Shabbir Ahmed from Doda, Jammu and Kashmir — want their trial transferred to another court, fearing injustice in the wake of the woman judge’s “prejudiced and biased” observations.
“Ajmal Kasab is your brother, you all are of the same clan but now you do not own him,” the special judge has been quoted as saying by the terror suspects in their complaint to the district judge.
“It is you who are trouble makers…You are lucky being inside jail otherwise you would have been dead,” the complaint quotes the judge as saying.
The district judge issued a notice to the Delhi government and posted the matter for hearing on November 24 to decide whether their plea for the transfer of trail should be accepted.
Calling the judge’s remarks “unwarranted”, their application says, “In view of the biased
and prejudiced attitude of the trial court [judge], we do not have faith in her and we are hopeful that we will not be getting justice as trial court has reached the conclusion that we are guilty before the conclusion of the trial.”
The three suspects were arrested by the special cell of Delhi police in April 2007. The police recovered 2kg RDX, three electric detonators, two hand grenades and Rs25,000 from them.
The police alleged that they were sent to New Delhi by their handler Abu Ammar, a Pakistan-based chief commander of LeT’s operations in Kashmir, to carry out blasts in the capital.