PUNE: A special UAPA court in Pune has directed the state prosecution to file affidavits of witnesses and submit a programme by May 30 to commence the trial against Yasin Bhatkal in the German bakery blast case.
Bhatkal, the co-founder of the banned Indian Mujahideen terror organisation and involved in a series of blasts across India, is currently lodged in the high security Tihar jail in Delhi.
The Pune unit of the state Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had arrested him on March 13, 2014, on the charge of planting bomb inside the bakery.
The blast left 17 people kiled, including five foreigners, and 64 others injured at Koregaon Park on February 13, 2010.
Bhatkal is the second accused arrested after the alleged lone conspirator, Mirza Himayat Inayat Baig, from whom 1,200g of RDX was seized following his arrest on September 10, 2010.
Special prosecutor Ujjwala Pawar told TOI, "The prosecution had earlier filed affidavits of 41 witnesses when the trial against Baig was conducted. The court has now asked us to file witness affidavits for the trial against Bhatkal. We are examining the earlier affidavits to see if any additional witness affidavits are required to be filed."
A senior ATS official, requesting anonymity, said, "We are keen on conducting the trial pending against Bhatkal since 2014. We have urged the special prosecutor to look into the court's directive for witness affidavits and the trial programme."
Special judge S R Navander has appointed lawyers C V Ranspise and Yashpal Purohit from the Pune district legal services authority to defend Bhatkal after the latter's lawyer, Zaheer Pathan, withdrew his vakalatnama from the case some time ago.
Purohit told TOI, "There are 117 witnesses listed in the supplementary chargesheet against Bhatkal. We shall cross-examine them on turns. The Tihar jail superintendent cited a central government order stating that Bhatkal cannot be shifted out of the prison for security reasons after the court had requested his physical presence for the trial."
