New Delhi: Four suspected Indian Mujahideen
terrorists, accused of sending terror emails to media houses
minutes before the serial blasts here in 2008, today
questioned criminal proceedings contending before a Delhi
court that they were already facing the charges in Mumbai for
the same offences and it violated a legal principle.
"We are facing charges for the same set of offences in
Mumbai. We cannot be tried here for the same as it would go
against the principle of double jeopardy," defence counsel M S
Khan told Additional Sessions Judge Santosh Snehi Mann.
Khan was making the arguments on a supplementary
chargesheet filed against 14 accused allegedly belonging to
Indian Mujahideen for their involvement in serial blasts in
the national capital on September 13, 2008.
He said the alleged members of IM`s media wing Mansoor
Asghar Peerbhoy and his three associates were arrested from
Mumbai and Pune and facing the charges for sending emails
to media houses by hacking wi-fi system of a private firm.
During the brief arguments, Khan said another accused
Kayamuddin Kapadia, who was linked to the cases here for
being in contact with other accused by phone but the three SIM
cards allegedly procured by him were found switched off since
July 26, 2008, the day of Ahmedabad serial blasts.
Likewise, the counsel claimed the police failed to find
any connection between alleged IM founder Amir Raza Khan and
accused Asif Bashiruddin Sheikh.
Meanwhile, the court put the matter for November 18 for
the prosecution to submit its rebuttal on the defence
arguments on the charges which were sought to be framed
against the accused in the five cases registered in connection
with the serial blasts here.
- PTI
