Cops forced to play lawyers in several terror cases

The State government has not appointed prosecutors in five of the seven terror cases which are at different stages of probe and trial.

The investigating officers (police officials) in all these cases have been forced to place the argument all by themselves. Even on Friday, an investigating officer in the Church Street blast case had to argue before the National Investigating Agency’s special court to take the custody of the accused brought to the City from Patna on a body warrant.

The accused Umer Siddiqui and Haider Ali were produced before the court by the investigating officer and other policemen on Friday morning. The police sought the custody of the duo to question them in connection with the Church Street blast.

However, the police did not want to show the formal arrest of the accused, stating that the two were still suspects. When the court asked how police custody could be granted even without a formal arrest, the police officials had to play the role of an advocate. The officials submitted a Supreme Court order stating that the accused facing trial in a case can be picked up for questioning in another case. The police officials heaved a sigh of relief after the court allowed their argument and remanded the duo in police custody.

This is not the only terror case the police were forced to argue on their own. The trial is under way before the NIA special court (49th Additional City Civil Sessions) in the 2008 serial blasts case. There are nine cases pertaining to the serial blasts and the government has appointed one special public prosecutor to handle all these cases. The State government has not appointed a prosecutor in cases such as the Chinnaswamy Stadium blasts, Malleswaram blast, pro-IS Twitter handler Mehdi Masroor Biswas, Church Street blast and arrests of the Indian Mujahideen terror suspects from Bhatkal.

“The stadium blasts case is important because it is the first strike by the Indian Mujahideen. The City police have charge-sheeted 14 people, including the mastermind Yasin Bhatkal. The trial is yet to commence since the State government has not appointed a prosecutor in the case,” said a senior prosecutor.