New Delhi: Two suspected members of banned terror outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and their associates, arrested last year for allegedly planning to carry out bomb blasts here, have been ordered to be put on trial by a Delhi court.
Additional Sessions Judge Daya Prakash ordered framing of charges against suspected LeT militant Ahtisham Farooq, Tawseef Ahmed Peer, who is allegedly associated with LeT, their associates Shafaqat Ali Tuggu and Saijee Anwar.
The court directed that charges against all the four accused be framed under various provisions of IPC, including sections 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating) and 120B (criminal conspiracy).
Except Anwar, the other three accused were also ordered to be put on trial for offences under the Explosive Substances Act and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and under section 121-A (conspiring to commit certain offences against state) of IPC.
"I have seen the file and also gone through UAPA and NIA Act and the documents placed on record and my inference is that charges under sections 419/420/468/471/121A/120-B of IPC, 5 Explosive Substances Act and 18/19/20/13 of UAPA be framed against accused Ahtisham Farooq Malick, Shafaqat Ali Tuggu and Tawseef Ahmed Peer and charge under sections 419/420/468/471/ 120-B IPC be framed against accused Saijee Anwar," the judge said and fixed the matter for further hearing on October 21.
Farooq, Tuggu and Peer are presently in judicial custody while Anwar is out on bail.
According to the police, explosive material and detonators along with 11 memory cards, India Passport of Farooq, who had allegedly undergone training in an LeT camp in Pakistan, and other articles were recovered from Farooq and Shafaqat.
Regarding Peer, the police had claimed that he had helped Farooq and Shafaqat in carrying out terror activities while a fake ID card and mobile sim card, allegedly obtained by Anwar by using forged documents, were recovered from the possession of Farooq. (More) PTI ABA
The police also told the court that Farooq used e-mails to communicate with his Pakistan-based mentors and during the investigation, various incriminating messages were decoded and they were found carrying details of terrorist strike to be committed at Chandni Chowk area here.
It claimed that the entire operation was given code name of `Shahi Programme`. The police said as per the CFSL report of video clippings of training in use of arms and explosives in Pakistan, the person shown in the video was none other than Farooq.
The police said according to a report received from the Jammu and Kashmir Police, Farooq was a trained militant of LeT while Peer was an "overground worker" of the terror group.
Tuggu was involved in planning to carry out blasts in Delhi and in purchasing explosive material from the market, it said.
During the arguments on framing of charges, the counsel appearing for the accused had submitted that the charge sheet filed by the police was "incomplete" and provisions of UAPA were wrongly invoked against their clients.
