The Supreme Court on Monday cleared the decks for the investigation and prosecution of leading Bollywood financer Bharat Shah under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act for his alleged links with the underworld, holding that a telephonic conversation can be the basis of registration of an First Information Report against the person.
The Central Bureau of Investigation got the nod to re-investigate the 2006 Malegaon case on Thursday. The decision by the MCOCA court throws open a lot of questions regarding the earlier investigation and the CBI now has its task cut out since it will not only have to deal with the new set of accused but also with the nine other accused who have been languishing in jail ever since the attack took place.
The cases were registered against Zamurrduin Ansari, Rajesh Panchariya, Mohammad Farooq Mansurian and gangster Dawood Ibrahim's brother Anees , the CBI said.
The complex stands on a plot of land owned by Central Public Works Department and was illegally built in connivance with municipal officials, according to police.
The most wanted man in connection with the serial blasts, which had claimed 187 lives on July 11, 2006, is Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative Azam Cheema.Cheema, 57, is based at the Bahawalpur camp of the LeT in Pakistan. He has been given the charge of fomenting terror-related activities in Delhi and Mumbai, say sources in the Intelligence Bureau.
The Special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act court Monday issued non-bailable warrants against gutka barons J M Joshi, Rasiklal Dhariwal and Pakistan-based Dawood Ibrahim and his brother Anees.
Retired Major Ramesh Upadhyay, an accused in the last year's Malegaon bomb blast, on Friday moved to a special court here seeking permission to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
They were remanded in police custody till December 27 by MCOCA Judge Ashok Bhangale later in the afternoon.
Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur has decided to move the Bombay High Court challenging the provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act which has been slapped against her in connection with the Malegaon case.
The special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act court on Friday extended the judicial custody of the 21 alleged members of the terror group Indian Mujahideen till January 30. Bagwaan has been accused of allegedly training the other IM members on how to administer sedatives on persons they were planning to kidnap.
The officers had allegedly come to the Arthur Road Jail for a surprise check on July 4 when they indirectly told Salem that they were travelling long distances and nobody was taking care of them, Ansari said.
All 10 accused in the Malegaon blast case have been booked under stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi made a rare appearance at a Bharatiya Janata Party press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday, along with the party's prime ministerial candidate L K Advani.He lamented that the Centre was sitting over his proposal to enact a Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act-type law in Gujarat. Such a law gives the state government a wide range of powers to deal with terrorist activities, he said.
The HC said that the agency should have first presented him before the court, which issued a warrant against him.
Shaikh, one of the main complainants in Sara-Sahara case, had allegedly been asked to vacate her house near Crawford market in south Mumbai for the construction of the Sara-Sahara shopping complex.
Thirty-year-old Jitendra Mann 'Gogi', who was shot dead in a crowded Rohini court room on Friday, was one of Delhi's most wanted criminals and the chief of an "extremely sophisticated" organised crime syndicate.
Salem has challenged a chargesheet filed against him.
The former Mumbai police commissioner argued he has been wrongly booked under the stringent law.
The accused have been charged under the MCOCA, IPC, Railways Act, Explosives Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Explosives Substances Act.
Defence lawyer Harshad Nimbalkar pleaded that since she was not obstructing the investigation and made herself available for questioning, besides suffering from diabetes and being HIV positive, her's was a fit case of granting bail.
Telgi's wife surrenders in fake stamp scam case
Hours after Telgi pleaded guilty and repented his actions, Judge Chitra Bhedi of a special court pronounced the quantum of punishment under various sections of the IPC and the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act.
The counsel for Abu Salem contended that at the time of his extradition the Portugal government had mentioned that he would not be prosecuted under MCOCA.
The deportation of 104 Indian nationals from the US, followed by another 119 set to arrive in Amritsar on Saturday night, has sparked controversy in India over the treatment of returnees. The US government's intensified crackdown on undocumented immigrants has led to criticism of the use of handcuffs and shackles for deportees, even those who have committed no crimes beyond immigration violations. The issue has led to heated debates in the Indian Parliament, with opposition leaders demanding an inquiry into the deportation process. The Indian government is engaging with US officials to ensure the humane treatment of deportees, while also facing the challenge of reintegrating returnees into Indian society. The deportations highlight the ongoing tension between border control and human rights, and the complexities of US-India relations.
The accused has maintained since the beginning that he is neither the kingpin nor the main conspirator. During the arguments regarding consideration of charge, "some of the co-accused have also reiterated this," the lawyers said.
However, the court has struck down certain provisions of MCOCA
A Bench comprising Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice B N Srikrishna passed the order, saying Dhariwal had cooperated with the Central Bureau of Investigation in its probe.
The gangster had given his phone numbers also, Joshi said.
Abrar Ahmed, suspected of planting bombs in the textile town of Malegaon that killed 31 people on September 8, was arrested on Saturday by the Anti-Terrorist Squad.
With this, the number of arrests in the Malegaon case has risen to seven.
The prime accused in the multi-crore fake stamp-paper case Abdul Karim Telgi on Friday sought protection for his daughter from four co-accused held with him in jail, who, he claimed, may kidnap her.
It also extended the police custody of another accused after the Anti-terrorist Squad said it wanted to take him to Bangalore for a narco-analysis test.
Telgi alleged that he is being put to untold misery, tortured and poisoned slowly to death.
A special court on Monday allowed the Anti-terrorism Squad to conduct narco analysis tests on three accused in July 11 train blasts case.
Two more suspects in the July 11 serial train blasts in Mumbai were on Thursday booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act.
Additional Chief Secretary K P Bakshi told reporters at a hurriedly-called press conference that all the cases against 55-year old Rajan, who has been deported from Indonesia, are being transferred to CBI because of its expertise in "handling transnational crimes".
Tabrez Telgi was again arrested on Tuesday in connection with a fake stamp paper scam in suburban Mulund.
The former Mumbai police commissioner has challenged his arrest under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act.
