7/11 blasts accused seeks transfer of case

An accused in the July 11 serial train bombings on Tuesday asked for the case to be transferred from a special court in Mumbai and alleged that his pleas and arguments were not being considered.

Asif Khan Bashir Khan alias Junaid, suspected to be one of the main conspirators behind the blasts, appealed to Principal Sessions Judge Ashok Bhangale that the hearing of the case be transferred from the court of special MCOCA Judge Mrudula Bhatkar. He alleged that she had not been considering the pleas of those accused in the case.

The 13 accused in the case had earlier refused to participate in the trial and pleaded against the charges framed against them by the court, saying that they wanted the trial to be transferred to another court.

After recording Khan's statement, proceedings were adjourned till Wednesday, when the court will record the statements of the other accused and hear the prosecution's arguments.

On Monday, all defence lawyers involved in the matter withdrew from the case.

The accused have filed an application before the principal sessions judge, seeking the transfer of the case.

Khan told Judge Bhangale that Judge Bhatkar had only been considering the stand of the Anti-Terrorism Squad, which probed the blasts, and had not taken into consideration any of the appeals of the accused.

He also alleged that the ATS had used third degree methods of torture on the accused and was seeking that one of them became an approver in the case.

The ATS has chargesheeted 13 people for their alleged involvement in carrying out seven near-simultaneous blasts on the city's commuter trains on July 11 last year that killed over 180 people and injured more than 800.