The Hindu : Verdict on Jan. 20 in Chennai bomb planting case

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jan 07, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

Verdict on Jan. 20 in Chennai bomb planting case

By K. Subramanian

Kancheepuram JAN. 6. The verdict in the case against the Al-Umma founder-leader, S. A. Basha, and 23 others for planning to disrupt normal life in Tamil Nadu by planting bombs in and around Chennai city, will be pronounced on January 20, L. Rajendran, special court judge at Poonamallee, said today.

All the accused including Basha and two women, Arifa Begum and Ayesha alias Sangeetha, were brought from various jails, with heavy police security and produced in the court.

They were arrested in February and March 1998 for keeping explosives, revolvers, electronic and ordinary detonators and gelatin sticks at Kodambakkam, Tambaram, Vepery and Poonamallee with intent to plant bombs at important government organisations and buildings, immediately after the Coimbatore serial blasts which claimed 59 lives.

The accused were charge-sheeted under Section 147 (unlawful assembly), 148 (unlawful assembly with deadly weapons), 149 (common intention), 353 (restraining government servants from discharging their official duties), 307 (attempt to murder) and 120-B (conspiracy) of the IPC, 4 (b), 5 and 6 of the Explosive Substances Act 1908, Section 25 (1-B) (a) of the Indian Arms Act 1959 and Section17 (1) of the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1908.

Basha plea

When the judge announced that the judgment would be delivered on January 20, Basha, key accused, pleaded: `Please do not delay your verdict. Please give your judgment in a fair manner without succumbing to any pressure.

We hope you will give a fair verdict'. The judge replied that he had to go through the proceedings.

When a reporter told the judge that a large number presspersons including from the electronic media gathered today following a report that the judgment would be delivered today, the judge said it was wrong. P. Krishnaswamy, special public prosecutor from Tiruchi, assisted by the additional public prosecutors T. Balasundaram and K. Venkataramani, said that after the charges had been framed, the case was posted on a day-to-day basis from June 2001 and in all 89 witnesses were examined.

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