One of the Mumbai train blast convicts has approached the Bombay High Court seeking parole to perform the last rites of his mother. In his plea, the 40-year-old convict, Muzammil Shaikh, has sought permission to go on parole without a police escort or having to pay for the escort charges for seven days.
Shaikh is a resident of the Naya Nagar area of Mira Road in Thane district near Mumbai and is currently lodged at the Nashik Road Central Prison.
Shaikh’s plea stated that his mother passed away on April 17 after suffering a cardiac arrest. He then moved for an emergency death parole on the same day. However, on April 18, he was informed that he would have to pay Rs 89,384 as escort charges for one-day parole.
Shaikh said that he needs to attend the 40th day ritual for which he needs to be at his house and in the graveyard on June 15 and if this is not permitted, then it will lead to grave injustice to him.
Shaikh pointed out that in 2018, when his mother was hospitalised, the Supreme Court had granted him one-day parole to visit his mother and at the end of it, on his own, he had surrendered before prison in time.
Shaikh pointed to his poverty and no source of income as he had been behind bars for the last 18 years. He said that both his parents have passed away and his brother is also facing a prison sentence in the same case. He only has one sister who is also a housewife, so he has no money to pay the escort charges.
On July 11, 2006, seven blasts were reported from different locations on the Western Railway line of the city’s local trains. The first bomb went off shortly after 6.20 pm in a train plying from Churchgate to Borivali. The bomb exploded when the train was between the Khar and Santacruz stations.
Another bomb exploded at around the same time on a local train between Bandra and Khar. Subsequently, five more explosions were reported from Jogeshwari, Mahim, Mira Road-Bhayandar, Matunga-Mahim and Borivali.
After a trial that went on for 8 years, 12 out of the 13 accused were convicted. Five Among the 12 were given death sentences in 2015 by the Special Court under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA). The remaining accused were sentenced to life imprisonment.
Source Agencies
