Geelani demands white paper on Parliament attack case

Kozhikode, Dec 26 (UNI) S A R Geelani, acquitted by the Supreme Court in the December 13, 2001 Parliament attack case today reiterated his demand for a white paper on the gruesome act that killed 14 people, including security personnel.

Talking to newspersons here, the Society for Protection of Detainees and Prisoners Rights (SPDPR) activist said, the Government had a responsibility to bring out the ''untold stories'' behind the attack as it was not clear who hatched the conspiracy and who were the real perpetrators of the crime.

''People would like to know what are the domestic and international ramifications of the attack and about the assailants who nearly succeeded in blowing up Palriament House building,'' he said.

Mr Geelani, who was acquitted by the apex court on October 29, 2003, nearly two years after the attack, demanded a re-trial in the case of another accused, Mohammed Afzal, whose death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court.

Defining it as a serious miscarriage of justice delivery system in the country, he said Afzal was not given a fair trial as the fast track court took a decision on death sentence merely on the basis of a prejudiced investigation by police.

He said Afzal's death sentence was confirmed by the Supereme Court to satisfy the collective conscience of the people, even as the same court had absolved him of any link with terrorist outfits.

On the possibility of any Pakistan connection of the attack, he said since no one had come forward to claim the bodies of the five terrorists killed in the attack, the Government had come to the conclusion that they might be militants from that country.

The Supreme Court had fixed the date of execution for Afsal in September this year, which was deferred after a mercy petition was filed before the President, seeking exemption from capital punishment.

UNI