Shinde writes fresh letter to CMs on terror-related cases

Ahead of Lok Sabha polls, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde has written a letter to all Chief Ministers to set up a multi-disciplinary committee to review all crime cases where an accused is waiting for trial for long or allegedly wrongfully arrested.
In a letter written last month, Shinde told the Chief Ministers to ensure a review through a multi-disciplinary committee each of the case where the accused is in jail for a long time without trial or allegedly arrested wrongly.
The move came after two earlier letters written by the Home Minister to Chief Ministers to set up screening or advisory committees to review cases of minority youths languishing in jails.

Shinde said no innocent should be kept in jail and all accused should get fair trial.
Earlier, Shinde had asked Chief Ministers to ensure that no innocent minority youth is wrongfully detained in the name of terror.
He had conveyed to Chief Ministers to be careful while arresting youth of minority community.

Last September, Shinde had said the Centre had received various representations on alleged harassment of innocent Muslim youth by law enforcement agencies.
"Some of the minority youth have started feeling that they are deliberately targeted and deprived of their basic rights," he had written and emphasised that the government is committed to its core principle of combating terrorism in every form and manifestation.

Shinde had asked the state governments to constitute special courts in consultation with high courts concerned for trial of terror-related cases, appoint special public prosecutors for trial of these cases and give priority to terror cases over other pending cases.
In May 2013, the Centre had set up 39 special courts under the NIA Act to take up terror-related cases.