Malegaon case: Bias in probe unfair

The discharge of 8 of the accused by a Mumbai court in the September 2006 Malegaon terrorist attack case is delayed justice and is welcome. But the sense of welcome is also vitiated by very disquieting questions about the working of the system of justice. All the 8 accused are Muslims and had been rounded up after the blasts close to a masjid, in which 37 people were killed. They spent many years in jail, were subjected to torture in custody and will carry a stigma even after their release. Two investigating agencies, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and the CBI, had found them involved in the case, but the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which later took over the case, found no evidence against them. Strangely, the NIA did not recommend their release but the court discharged them. The agency has found that it was a group called Abhinav Bharat which was responsible for the attack.

It is not the first time that Muslim youth accused of terrorist crimes are being released for want of evidence. In the Hyderabad Mecca masjid blast case also, indicted youth were released for want of evidence after they were in kept in jail for long and subjected to torture. This has happened in other cases and in other places as well. The reflexive suspicion and prejudices that work against members of the Muslim community are at the root of such unjust and unfair treatment meted out to them. Many people lose the best years of their lives, and how are they to be compensated? It is not an odd and rare lapse, but becomes a pattern running through many cases. This raises questions about the credibility of the justice system, especially the investigating system. The integrity of the investigating agencies comes under a cloud when they are suspected to be acting with bias and preconceived notions and even seen to be framing people, and are unable to support their indictment with evidence. This also creates resentment and alienation among victim communities. In cases of such wrongdoing by the police, the responsibility should be fixed and errant personnel should be punished.

The case against the accused in the attack, who are said to mainly belong to the Abhinav Bharat group, has suffered setbacks. Witnesses have turned hostile in this and other cases in which those from the Hindu community are the accused. The special public prosecutor in the Malegaon case resigned last year after stating that she was under pressure from the NIA to go soft in the case. Bias in investigation and prosecu-tion will weaken the fight against terrorism as such.