Poisoning not behind blast-accused's custodial death: FSL

The Forensic Science Laboratory here has concluded that poisoning was not the cause of death of an accused in a serial blasts case who recently died in police custody.
In its report sent to the circle officer (city) of Barabanki, where serial blasts accused Khalid Mujahid died in May, FSL has stated that no chemical poison was detected in the deceased's viscera, official sources said today.
Mujahid died while he was being taken to Lucknow after a hearing in a Faizabad court on May 18. His death sparked an uproar with allegations of conspiracy being made in certain quarters.
It was alleged that Mujahid had died due to suspected poisoning.

On May 19, an FIR was lodged by the deceased's uncle against 42 persons, including a retired top UP police officer and a senior serving cop, for allegedly being involved in a conspiracy leading to Mujahid's death even as the state government recommended a CBI inquiry into the matter.
The cases were booked under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 302 (murder) of the IPC although the individual roles of those mentioned in the FIR was not clear, police said.

Mujahid's uncle Zaheer Alam had alleged in his complaint that his nephew was abducted by Special Task Force personnel from Madiyahon in Jaunpur district on December 16, 2007, and later arrested on the "false claim" that he had been arrested with explosives near Barabanki railway station.

He also alleged that the abduction and framing of Mujahid over serial blasts in Lucknow and the Faizabad court premises was the result of a conspiracy between several police officials.
The FIR states that after Mujahid was found to have been falsely implicated by the RD Nimesh Commission, the state government had moved an application for withdrawal of cases against him in a Barabanki court although that move was rejected on May 10.
The deceased's uncle said that the government had decided to challenge the above order in a higher court, in which case Mujahid would have been a key witness against the accused policemen.