E-Paper
Aurangabad arms haul: Verdict date likely to be known today
The designated Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act court is likely to announce today the date for its verdict in the 2006 Aurangabad arms haul case today against Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative Syed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal and 20 other accused.
The designated Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act court is likely to announce today the date for its verdict in the 2006 Aurangabad arms haul case today against Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative Syed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal and 20 other accused.
The trial in the case concluded in March, ten years after the arrest of the accused, but the trial began only in 2013 after the arrest of key accused Jundal.
According to the prosecution, on May 8, 2006, a team from the Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS) had chased a Tata Sumo and an Indica car on the Chandwad-Manmad road near Aurangabad and arrested three people, seizing 30kg of RDX, 10 AK-47 assault rifles and 3,200 bullets.
In 2006, the agency arrested 21 more people and recovered 16 AK-47 rifles, 40kg of RDX, 500 hand grenades and more than 5,000 cartridges from them. The Indica was allegedly driven by Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal, an alleged handler in the 26/11 terror attacks.
Investigators have said that Jundal had managed to escape from the police holdup. A resident of Beed in Maharashtra, he is reported to have travelled to Malegaon to leave the vehicle with an acquaintance. In May 2006, he escaped to Bangladesh from where he fled to Pakistan on a fake passport obtained with the help of LeT operatives, according to the crime branch. He was arrested in 2012 after his deportation to India.
Stay updated with all the Breaking News and Latest News from Mumbai. Click here for comprehensive coverage of top Cities including Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, and more across India along with Stay informed on the latest happenings in World News.
