Kochi: The High Court of Kerala launched a scathing attack on the National Investigation Agency (NIA) while delivering its verdict in the 2006 Kozhikode twin blasts case, the latter's first assignment in the state.
High Court on Thursday acquitted alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative Thadiyantevida Nazeer and Shafas, convicted by the NIA court in 2011 in connection with the case. The court allowed the appeal filed by first-accused Nazeer and fourth-accused Shafas against the life imprisonment sentence awarded by the Kochi-based NIA Special Court.
Nazeer and the other accused were charged with conspiring, planning and executing the bomb blasts in the KSRTC bus depot and the Mofussil bus stand in Kozhikode on March 3, 2006.
The court verdict begins with the famous quote in Sir James Stephen’s book "History of Criminal Law": "Instead of rubbing chilly into the eyes of the accused, you need to go out and investigate.”
The main criticism of the court was that the investigating officials had failed to make collective efforts to obtain independent evidence based on the statements given by the accused.
"We are not saying that red chilly was used for getting disclosures from the accused. But in a bid to complete the investigation the probe officials recorded the confessional statements of the accused which is not admissible under the Evidence Act. We don't believe that the NIA officials are ignorant about the law. What has been done in this case is violation of the Evidence Act. The confessional statements were not recorded as per Sections 25 and 26 of the Evidence Act. The nod given for prosecution under the Explosive Act without the permission of district magistrate was also wrong," the court observed,
The court rejected NIA's argument that the district magistrate’s permission was not required in this matter.
One can understand the problems when a probe is taken over four-and-a-half years after the incident. Also, the investigation team did not even have a lead till the arrest of Abdul Halim. It was only after the questioning of Halim that accused 1 to 8 were arrainged in the case. The ninth accused was neither taken into custody nor questioned.
The arrests were carried out only on the basis of confessional statements.
Where is the evidence?
From the remains recovered from the incident site it was confirmed that explosives were used. The eyewitnesses said that the explosive material was kept at the Mofussil bus stand in a black plastic bag. However, this does not strengthen the statement of the approver in the case, the court wondered.
The police statement was that two black covers were seen at the Markaz Masjid. The police could convey the information to the accused in custody that the bomb was in a black cover.
The investigating officials also could not prove the allegation that a conspiracy was hatched in the case.
It is alleged that the bomb threats were issued from two telephone booths. Nazeer had claimed the plastic pot for placing the bomb was bought from the Kannur Plastic House. However, there is no corroborating evidence.
The investigating officials could not prove the argument that the bomb was kept in safe custody in the room belonging to the second accused at the K L Arcade.
The blasts that shook Kozhikode city
Two blasts shook Kozhikode city on March 3, 2006. The blasts took place between 12.40 pm and 1.05 pm. Two police personnel and an identical number of porterssustained minor injuries. The timely action of city police in evacuating the people from Mofussil bus stand averted a major tragedy.
The first blast took place at 12.40 pm behind the comfort station at the KSRTC bus stand. A large number of people were on the Mavoor Road at the time of the blast. On hearing the sound of the explosion, people ran helter-skelter. The windows of a nearby hotel were shattered by the impact of the blast. The glass pieces that came off the broken windows tore the advertisement board installed closeby.
The traffic went haywire following the blast. Since there was information that a second blast might take place at the Mofussil bus stand, police teams had already arrived at the spot.
Within minutes all people were evacuated from the bus stand and the police began a massive search operation.
During the course of the search, explosives were found in a bag but soon they went off.
Initially the case was probed by the police and subsequently the Crime Branch took over the investigations.
The case took a new turn after the arrest of Kannur native Abdul Halim by Kochi police in August during the course of the probe into Ernakulam collectorate bomb blast case. Halim confessed to his involvement in the blasts in Kozhokode and also disclosed about the role of Thadiyandivade Nazeer. Subsequently, Nazeer was made the first accused in the case.
The other accused were Kannur madrassa teacher Panoor native Azar, Shafaz of Kannur Thayil, Abdul Jaleel of Madamboor, Yusuf and Shammi Firoz.
Halim, who was lodged in the Kozhikode district jail, was arraigned as the third accused. The Crime Branch investigation team’s finding was that Thadiyandivade Nazeer had planted the bomb at the Kozhhikode bus stand. The Crime Branch also disclosed that the bomb was manufactured by Halim.
NIA's first case in Kerala
The probe was taken over by the NIA in 2009. This was the first case taken over by the NIA in Kerala.
The chargesheet was filed in 2010. NIA submitted a report stating that the main accused had close links with the cases pertaining to setting on fire a bus in Kalamassery and the blast at the Ernakulam District Collectorate.
In 2011, the NIA Special Court found first-accused Thadiyantivade Nazeer, 35, and fourth-accused Shafaz, 26, guilty of the charges.
Nazeer was awarded three life imprisonment and one-and-a-half lakh rupees fine. Shafaz was awarded double life imprisonment and one lakh rupees fine.
Later the appeals filed by Nazeer and Shafaz against the NIA court verdict were admitted by the high court.
