The allegations date back to the suspicion of the three being part of an Al-Qaeda sleeper cell just before the Republic Day celebrations in 2016.
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — Three Muslims accused of having links with Al-Qaeda were on Friday acquitted after the prosecution failed to provide evidence against them.
Additional District Judge (ADJ)-1, Vimesh Kumar Sahay of Jharkhand’s Jamshedpur city, acquitted the three, including two from Jamshedpur, who were allegedly linked to Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), as the prosecution failed to provide any evidence of their involvement in the offense, media reports reaching here said on Saturday.
An FIR was registered in 2016 at the Bistupur police station based on inputs from Delhi’s Special Task Force (STF). Authorities claimed that the suspects were linked to the AQIS.
Those acquitted have been identified as Maulana Kalimuddin Mujahid, Maulana Abdul Rahman Ali Khan alias Maulana Mansoor alias Cuttacki and Mohammad Shami. Maulana Mansoor from Cuttack in Odisha, and Shami, a resident of Dhatkidih in Bistupur, are currently in Ghaghidih central jail. Kalimuddin, a resident of Jamshedpur’s Azadnagar area, is however, out on bail.
Shami was arrested from Mewat in Haryana in January 2019 on the accusation of having links with an AQIS operative. Maulana Mansoor was arrested from Cuttack in 2015.
The allegations date back to the suspicion of they being part of an Al-Qaeda sleeper cell just before the Republic Day celebrations in 2016. The then Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Anoop Mathew had claimed that the suspects were involved in radicalising the youth and were interrogated for possible terror links.
In 2023, a Delhi court had convicted Shami and Cuttacki under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act (UAPA). They were brought to Jamshedpur later the same year.
Referring to their acquittal, defence counsel Balai Panda said: “All witnesses (16) produced by the prosecution failed to prove the complicity of the three accused persons. The court then acquitted them due to lack of evidence.”
With the case now closed, the accused are set to walk free after years in custody.
The acquittal has now finally brought relief to their families. Speaking after the judgment, Cuttacki’s brother, Muhammad Tahir, said: “The court’s judgment has restored our faith in the judiciary.”
