Kolkata, July 19: The American Center terrorist attack case involving Dubai-based don Aftab Ansari and eight others was today transferred by chief judge of city sessions court B K Samanta to the 11th bench for session trial. Judge P L Dutta of the 11th bench of the city civil and session court thereafter fixed august two for framing of charges against the accused after Ansari alias Farhan Malik and the eight others were produced before him.

Ansari and the other accused had been in police remand till today. The case relating to the firing by motorcycle-borne terrorists on January 22 at the American Center, which left five policemen dead, was earlier committed for sessions trial on July 2 by the chief metropolitan magistrate.

Ansari is also the prime accused in the kidnapping of shoe baron Parthapratim Roy Burman in Kolkata, diamond merchant Bhaskar Parekh in Gujarat and the attempted kidnapping of Kolkata-based businessman Ganesh Mahalingam. Ansari, with alleged links to the Laskar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Harkat-ul-Jehadi, is also involved in attempting to smuggle in explosives, including RDX in Gujarat, as well as a conspiracy to blow up the Howrah bridge and the Howrah Railway Station. He was arrested at Dubai a day after the American Center attack as he was about to board a flight for Islamabad. He was handed over to the CBI in February.

Bureau Report