Vice-President of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Prof Salim Engineer
Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) welcomes the Rajasthan High Court judgment acquitting those accused of carrying out the Jaipur blasts and demands compensation to the acquitted and action against the police team that framed false charges in the case.
In a statement to the media, the Vice-President of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Prof Salim Engineer said, “Jamaat welcomes the Rajasthan High Court judgment in the 2008 Jaipur bomb blasts case. The judgment by Justice Pankaj Bhandari and Justice Sameer Jain of the Rajasthan High Court, Jaipur bench has overturned the judgment of the trial court that awarded the death sentence to the four accused in the case. However, the judgment raises some disturbing questions. As the accused have been pronounced innocent, it implies that the real perpetrators of the crime are still at large. Will the government set up a new team to inquire into and trace the criminals who planned and executed the blasts? It must do so as justice has still evaded the relatives of those who died in the blasts. The issue of justice for the victims of the blasts is very important and should not be ignored. The High Court has identified various flaws and gaping holes in the investigation that led to the accused being falsely implicated in the case”.
Prof Salim Engineer further said, “JIH agrees with the Court that the guilty police officers who framed false charges should be identified and punished. The police often wilt under political pressure and end up in framing the innocent. Jamaat-e-Islami Hind demands that compensation be given to the five acquitted as they lost 15 years of their precious lives in jail because of the false cases built against them. Moreover, their families endured their incarceration with the added disgrace of being labeled as a family of “terrorists”. It is a problem in our society that presumes the accused to be guilty without the charges being proven. Jamaat believes that the judgment is yet another example of how the state has completely failed in tracing the real culprits behind the various acts of terror in the country but has been eager to target innocents using draconian laws and thus destroying their lives along with their families. It has weakened our democracy and undermined the civil liberties of ordinary citizens. Jamaat also lauds members of civil society who took cudgels on behalf of the innocent and played a pivotal role in pursuing their case through a team of competent lawyers”.
