SC acquits all six convicts involved in 2002 Akshardham Temple attack

The Supreme Court has acquitted all six convicts, including three condemned prisoners, who were involved in the 2002 attack on the Akshardham Temple.

Pulling up the Gujarat Police for its shoddy investigation in the case in which all of the accused faced prosecution under the stringent anti-terror law POTA, a two-judge bench of the apex court, comprising of Justices A.K. Patnaik and V.Gopala Gowda quashed the orders of the trial court and the Gujarat High Court which had given three convicts the death sentence.

The other convicts were facing varying jail terms from life sentence to 10 years for the September 24, 2002 terrorist attack on the Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar.

Adam Ajmeri, Shan Miya alias Chand Khan and Mufti Abdul Qyyum Mansuri were awarded death sentence in July 2006 by the special court set up to try the case under Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA).

The apex court ordered their release from jail forthwith if they are not convicted in any other case.

Two militants, identified as Murtuza Hafiz Yasin and Ashraf Ali Mohammed Farooq and allegedly having links with Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, were killed by National Security Guard (NSG) commandos during the attack on the temple.

During the attack 32 people were killed, including 28 temple visitors, three commandos, including one from NSG, and a constable of the State Reserve Police (SRP).