2002 Mulund blast: Court allows to take blood samples of accused’s close relatives

Bashir is alleged to have trained many youths to participate in terrorist activities and also was accused of being the mastermind of the blast. Sources revealed that Bashir has been tracked in UAE and he has been staying there with a different identity

Mumbai: The special POTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act) on Thursday granted permission to take blood samples of the close relatives of Camp alias Bashir, the alleged mastermind behind the three blasts that rocked the city between December 2002 and March 2003 killing 12 people and injuring 139 others.

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Bashir is alleged to have trained many youths to participate in terrorist activities and also was accused of being the mastermind of the blast. Sources revealed that Bashir has been tracked in UAE and he has been staying there with a different identity.

Based on an alert from Interpol, Bashir was traced and the authorities in India were asked to provide proof of identity and evidence for his role in connection with the blast case.

The Mumbai police took it forward and tracked the family of Bashir to Kerala. Bashir’s parents are said to be too old and his sister and brother are alive.

The Mumbai police had filed a plea before the POTA court last year seeking direction to the family members of Bashir to provide their blood samples to confirm the identity. The family’s lawyer Sharif Shaikh objected to the plea saying that the police should first arrest the accused and bring him before the court. Only in such circumstances, Shaikh said the family can give their blood samples.

The special POTA court has refused to accept the objections and has asked the family members to cooperate with the process and give blood samples to prove the identity of the accused.

On December 6, 2002, a bomb exploded in a fast-food outlet at Mumbai Central railway station where 25 people were injured. A month-and-a-half later, on January 27, 2003, a bomb planted on a bicycle exploded outside Vile Parle railway station, killing Anita Indulkar, 35, and injuring 32 others. On March 13, 2003, another bomb exploded in the women’s first-class compartment of a Karjat-bound fast train as it approached Mulund station where more than 82 people were injured.

The prosecution claimed that former general secretary of SIMI Saquib Nachan, along with LeT member Faisal Khan, Pakistani nationals and 23 other accused were involved in the case. Of the 24 accused, five, including Khan, who was killed in an encounter, are dead, while six other accused remain absconding.