Court rejects UP's move to set free terrorism accused

In a blow to the Akhilesh Yadav government, a Barabanki district court Friday dismissed its request to withdraw cases against alleged terrorists Tariq Qasmi and Khalid Mujahid, involved in the 2007 serial blasts in Gorakhpur.

The state government, in its petition before the court, had pleaded that it had decided to set the two accused free to "promote communal harmony and public interest".

The court, while rejecting the state's plea, said the government has failed to specify and define the two terms used as the reason for appealing to free the two accused.

Randhir Singh Suman, lawyer for the accused Qasmi, told IANS that Special Sessions Judge (SC/ST) Kalpana Mishra rejected the government's petition, which was put forth on April 26.

"Other than these reasons, the court also observed that the state government had not appended an affidavit with the petition," Suman said.

The judge rapped the government for presenting before it the highly sensitive documents openly, rather than in a sealed envelope.

Citing these three reasons, the court rejected the government plea to withdraw the cases against the two accused in the Gorakhpur bomb blasts of May 22, 2007, which left six people, including a woman, injured.

The Samajwadi Party (SP), from time to time, has been assuring the minority community that "false charges" slapped on "innocent Muslims" would be withdrawn.

The government had moved for the withdrawal of the case, following a recommendation from the district administration to the state home department.

Qasmi was picked up by the Special Task Force (STF) soon after the blasts after he was found to be in touch with Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) activists.

This was the first time charges of terrorism were sought to be withdrawn since the SP government under Akhilesh Yadav government was sworn in last year.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which slammed the Akhilesh Yadav government for this move, said Friday that its stand has been vindicated by the court.

"This is a major slap on the face of the SP government, which was trying to appease minorities for their votes by withdrawing cases against such terrorism accused," said Vijay Bahadur Pathak, state spokesman of the BJP.