Petition against acquittal in Coimbatore blasts case

Chennai, Apr 23 (UNI) Counsels of the BJP today moved the Madras High Court against the acquittal of People's Democratic Party Chairman Abdul Nazar Maudhany and six others in the Coimbatore serial bomb blasts case by a special court.

On behalf of one K Vellingiri, father of one of the deceased in the blasts, Rajeshwar, four BJP Advocates P Rabu Manohar, T V Krishnamachari, A Sreedharmurthy and K Rajendran filed a review petition, challenging the trial court's judgment.

They contended that the judgment was too lenient and the judge ought to have imposed maximum punishment after having found them guilty under the Explosive Substances Act, 1908. Drawing a parallel with the death sentence awarded in the Dharmapuri bus burning case, in which three TNAU girl students were burnt to death, they said the Coimbatore blasts case was much more heinous and all the accused should be awarded capital punishment.

In their petition, they submitted that the city and its suburbs were rocked by 12 bomb blasts on February 14, 1998, ahead of BJP leader L K Advani's election meeting at R S Puram in Coimbatore, killing 47 persons and injuring 218 others. The Special Investigation Team had arrested Maudhany, Al-Umma leader S A Basha and 172 others and filed a chargesheet in a special court in Coimbatore.

After the trial, the special judge had acquitted Maudhany and six others and awarded life sentence to Basha and 42 others. As many as 115 accused were found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment, ranging from three years to seven years, they added.

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