Ahmedabad blasts: A horrific story about manufacturing an accused Submitted by admin4 on 26 August 2011 - 12:00am Indian Muslim By TCN

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Mumbai: He was picked by Mumbai Police to make a witness against some people. Wh en he refused to do so as he didn t know them, he was tortured and threatened to be killed and to implicate his brothers in a blast case. When he didn t break, he was t aken on remand in various theft cases one after another and tortured and again thre tened for over a month. When he survived and again refused to witness against un known persons, he was made an accused in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts case. He is Afzal Usmani. Usmani provided the details of the horrific journey in police custody to a Mumba i court on 11th February 2009. His letter to an MCOCA court in Mumbai has now co me out.

Before becoming a terror accused, Usmani was a small businessman. With his wife and three children he had been residing in Mumbai. He had been living in the cit y since his childhood. He would own and run a bakery shop there. His weak point, it seems, that moved the police to lay hand on him without thinking twice was s ome petty cases he had against him in court. And this is true about many of the Muslim terror accused and some killed in encounters as terrorists like Sohrabuddi h of Gujarat. Afzal Usmani was picked on 26th August 2008 when he was travelling in Godaan Exp ress to come to attend his court date of 27th August 2008 of an earlier case at Sewri Session Court. He was picked up from the train by the police of the Mumbai DCB CID. They told him they wanted to make him a witness in some case. He was p resented before a magistrate next day and taken on remand and for next one month he remained on remand after remand, tortured and threatened to force him to giv e witness against some people who were held in the Ahmedabad serial blasts case of last month i.e. 26th July 2008. When he survived all and didn t budge he was prod uced on 24th September 2008 along with four other persons, before the Esplanade Court in Mumbai, and again taken on remand and the same journey continued till h e was presented in an MCOCA court in October 2008. Excerpts from his letter to Special MCOCA Court in February 2009: -- On 26th August, 2008, as I was travelling via Godaan Express to come to atten d my court date 27th August, 2008 of an earlier case at Sewri Session Court, I w as picked up from the train by the police of the Mumbai DCB CID, who said that, they wanted to make me a witness in some case. -- I was produced on 27th August, 2008 before the Honorable Magistrate at the Es planade Court and my remand was obtained. That I asked as to which case I had be en brought under and I was told that I had been remanded in a case of theft. I r equested to be allowed to meet my relatives but I was not allowed to do so. I wa s taken to a flat at Wadala and I was threatened that both my brothers would be brought and detained and beaten up and be implicated in a case. -- After that I was told that there are some persons against whom I have to give witness in a bomb blast case and if I do so I would be let loose in the case. W hen I refused, I was brought to Crime Branch Unit No.III and tortured with elect ric shock to such an extent that I fell unconscious two or three times. I was th reatened that I would be killed and my body too would not be handed over to my f amily and that my brothers would be implicated in bomb blast cases. That I was n

either taken to a lock- up nor allowed to meet my family and I was told that if I complained anything in court then my brothers too would be brought and kept wi th me. In this manner I was transferred from one police remand to another in var ious theft cases in which I was falsely implicated. Whenever my police custody r emand was refused to be extended by the Honourable Magistrate court and magister ial custody was ordered, I would not be taken to jail, but a new case would be i nstituted against me and a new police remand taken in a new theft case. This con tinued for a period of almost a month. -- I was produced on 24th September, 2008 along with four other persons, before the Honourable Esplanade Court and my Police remand was taken and I was then put in a lock-up. -- On 7th October, 2008, I was produced before the Honourable Special MCOCA Cour t. I was frightened and could not say anything. After somedays I was taken to a DCP. The DCP too said that I was to be made a witness in this case. I told my wh ole story to the DCP and explained that I don t know anyone or anything in the matte r. The DCP however told me to think over the matter for a day and gave me an ind irect threat by telling me that this was a way of saving my brothers. On the nex t day I was again taken before the DCP who told me to write my name on a plain p aper. I wrote my name on a plain paper. -- I was the taken to the Esplanade Court. I told the Honourable Magistrate that I am innocent. He took the names of certain persons, whose names I did not know and I told him that I did not know such persons. The Mgistrate then showed me a paper on which my name had been written and I explained to the Magistrate that the DCP Officer had said that they would make me a witness and let me go and had told me to write my name on a plain paper. A Police Officer who was involved in the investigation and had tortured me was present when I was present before the Magistrate. -- After this I was taken to Crime Branch Unit III. I was given a paper and told to memorise it and the next day a video film was made. When I refused I was giv en electric shocks and was severly abused and threatened. -- I am innocent. I do not know any of the persons who have been involved in thi s case alongwith me. I have not committed any crime and am innocent. Earlier too I have had MCOCA put on me and have been acquitted. Once more MCOCA has been ap plied on me and I ask for Justice. How can I give witness against persons whom I do not even know. After being acquitted in my earlier MCOCA case, I was out on bail in two other cases which I was attending regularly. Now I have been branded as a terrorist and have had MCOCA applied on me. Share