A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on January 27 acquitted Thadiyantevida Naseer, a self-styled South India Chief of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Shafas, his relative and another convict in the case relating to the twin bomb blasts that took place in 2006 in Kozhikode.
The Bench comprising Justice K. Vinod Chandran and Justice Ziyad Rahman also dismissed an appeal filed by National Investigation Agency (NIA) challenging the acquittal of Abdul Halim and Aboobacker Yusaf.
The court passed the verdict while allowing an appeal filed by Nazeer and Shafas challenging the order of the NIA Special court convicting them in the case..
The NIA Special Court, Ernakulam had awarded life imprisonment to Thadiyantevida Naseer, the first accused and Shafas, the fourth accused. The Special Court had also imposed ₹1.60 lakh and ₹1.10 lakh respectively on Nazeer and Shafas. Abdul Halim and Aboobacker Yusaf, the third accused and ninth accused had already been acquitted by the Special Court. The trial against the four accused was completed on August 11, 2011.
According to the NIA's charge sheet, Nazeer and the other accused had conspired, planned and executed the bomb blasts in Kozhikode at the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation's bus depot and mofussil bus stand on March 3, 2006. The NIA alleged that the blasts were carried out in retaliation against what the accused regarded as the the perceived partisan action of the Executive and Judiciary in rejecting bail to the Muslim accused in the second Marad communal carnage case.
The explosions occurred at the two bus stations on Mavoor Road within a gap of 10 minutes in the afternoon of March 3. Explosions were triggered by timer devices. Two persons, including a police officer, were injured in the blasts. Initially, it was investigated by a special police team and the Crime Branch. NIA took over the case in 2009. Nazeer was arrested in 2009 from the India-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya.
In fact, second accused Mohammed Ashar and eighth accused P.P. Yusaf were absconding when the trial was started. However, they were arrested in 2019. Sixth accused Fayiz died during the trial of the case while seventh accused Shammi Firoz turned approver and was examined as a witness.
