POTA accused Saquib Nachan seeks discharge in bomb blast case

A decade after serial bomb blasts rocked suburban areas of the city, Saquib Nachan, POTA accused and former Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) functionary, today urged the Bombay High Court to discharge him in the case.
Arguing in person, Nachan pleaded the trial had not yet begun and that there was no material with the prosecution to connect him with the crime.
A bench headed by Justice P V Hardas adjourned the hearing on the petition for further hearing on October 8 as the prosecution sought time to argue.
A series of blasts had rocked Mulund, Vile Parle and Bombay Central between December 2002 and March 2003 in which ten persons were killed and over 50 injured.

Following the blasts, Nachan was arrested under POTA and tried in a special designated court.
Earlier, the High Court had granted stay on the trial and asked the state and police not to proceed against Nachan until further orders on the petition.