A Mumbai court on Friday cleared Indian Mujahideen (IM) operator Aijaz Shaikh of all charges in a 2010 case involving sending an email warning of terror strikes in New Delhi. Shaikh was sentenced to death for his role in the February 2013 terror attack in Hyderabad.
Shaikh was exonerated on Friday by Special MCOCA Judge BD Shelke due to a lack of proof. The detailed order was not yet accessible, though.
Aijaz Shaikh, who is thought to be IT smart and who used to work at a BPO, is incarcerated in a Hyderabad jail.
Shaikh was taken into custody by the Mumbai Crime Branch in February 2015 in relation to a terror mail case that was filed on October 10, 2010, concerning a letter written to the BBC news station in the United Kingdom threatening terror attacks in the nation’s capital by IM.
Police focused on Shaikh after an investigation revealed the email was sent from south Mumbai. Shaikh is charged with sending the message via his cell phone.
Shaikh faced charges of forgery after he obtained a SIM card under someone else’s name and used it to send threatening emails.
Eight witnesses were questioned by the prosecution, one of whom was the proprietor of the store where Shaikh bought SIM cards using fictitious identification credentials.
In his representation of the defendants, advocate Hasnain Kazi said that the IP address listed in the FIR indicated it belonged to Norway.
Kazi further contended that no expert witness was questioned to establish the email’s Mumbai origin.
According to Kazi, Shaikh was used as a scapegoat because the investigative authorities were unable to identify the real perpetrator.
Trials for the July 2011 explosions in Zaveri Bazar, Opera House, and Kabutar Khana, which claimed 21 lives, are also being held against Shaikh.
