7/11 Mumbai train blasts: Who are the 12 men acquitted after 19 years in jail?

Nearly two decades after the deadly July 11, 2006 serial train blasts in Mumbai, the Bombay High Court on Monday acquitted twelve men who had been behind bars for their alleged role in one of India's worst terror attacks, which killed over 180 people and injured over 800.

While delivering the verdict, a special bench comprising Justices Anil Kilor and Shyam Chandak observed that the prosecution could not establish the type of explosives used in the incident and noted that the evidence presented was 'insufficient' to secure a conviction against all the accused.

"The prosecution has utterly failed to prove the case against the accused. It is hard to believe that the accused committed the crime. Hence, their conviction is quashed and set aside," the bench said.

The prosecution, however, maintained that the accused were members of the outlawed Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and had carried out the attacks with support from across the border.

In 2015, a special court had found 12 men guilty in the case, handing out death sentences to five of them while awarding life imprisonment to the other seven. During the appeal process, one of the convicts died.

LIST OF DEATH CONVICTS

Among those who were sentenced to death was Kamal Ahmed Ansari, a resident of Bihar's Madhubani district, who was accused of receiving arms training in Pakistan and planting the bomb that exploded at Matunga station. Ansari died in 2021 at the age of 50 while his appeal was still pending.

Mohammed Faisal Rahman Shaikh, now 50, lived in Mira Road near Thane and was accused of being one of the main conspirators. According to the prosecution, he received money from Pakistan, assembled the bombs and planted one of them in a suburban train.

Ehtesham Siddiqui, aged 42 at the time of conviction, was accused of conducting a reconnaissance of the trains and planting the bomb that went off at Mira-Bhayandar.

Naveed Hussain Khan Rasheed, a 44-year-old call centre employee from Secunderabad, was accused of assembling the bombs and planting one that exploded on a train at Bandra.

Asif Khan Bashir Khan, a 52-year-old civil engineer from Jalgaon, was alleged to be a key SIMI member who helped assemble the explosives and planted the bomb that detonated at Borivali.

LIST OF LIFE CONVICTS

Among those sentenced to life imprisonment, Tanveer Ahmed Ansari, a 50-year-old resident of Agripada in Mumbai, was accused of attending terror camps in Pakistan and helping plan the attack by scouting the trains.

Mohammed Shafi, 46, was accused of operating a hawala network and arranging funds from Pakistan to finance the blasts.

Shaikh Mohammed Ali Alam, who is now 55, was accused of assembling bombs at his home in suburban Govandi with the help of Pakistani nationals who had illegally entered India.

Mohammed Sajid Ansari, a 47-year-old from Mira Road, was alleged to have procured timers for the bombs, helped put them together and provided shelter to two Pakistanis.

Muzammil Rahman Shaikh, the youngest accused at 40, was a software engineer who was said to have received training in Pakistan and conducted reconnaissance of the local trains. His brothers, Faisal and Raahil — believed to be among the main planners — were never arrested.

Suhail Mehmood Shaikh, 55, was accused of undergoing arms training in Pakistan and surveying potential train routes for the attack.

Zameer Rehman Shaikh, 50, was alleged to have participated in conspiracy meetings and received training across the border.

- Ends