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Nanded arms case: All five terror accused want to plead guilty

This is the first case in Maharashtra investigated by the NIA where the accused have sought to plead guilty, though there are instances of terror accused pleading guilty in Bengaluru and Delhi.

FIVE years after five men were arrested on charges of being part of a Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) plot to incite Muslim youth, they submitted before a court on Monday that they wanted to plead guilty. This is the first case in Maharashtra investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) where the accused have sought to plead guilty, though there are instances of terror accused pleading guilty in Bengaluru and Delhi.

Mohammed Muzammil Abdul Gani, Mohammed Sadique Mohammed Farooque, Mohammed Irfan Mohammed Gaus, Mohammed Akram Mohammed Akbar and Mohammed Iliyas Mohammed Akbar, all residents of Nanded, were arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad in 2012.

The accused, now lodged in Taloja jail, were on Monday produced in a special NIA court. In handwritten notes, they said that the condition of their homes had deteriorated since their arrest in 2012. They also said that they wanted to return to their families and society. The notes said they should be shown leniency if the court accepted their plea of guilt. The prosecution has so far examined over 13 witnesses in the case, which was taken over in 2012 by the NIA.

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The advocates for the accused, who were being represented by the Jamiat Ulama-e-Maharashtra, told the court that since they did not support the accused pleading guilty, they want to withdraw from the case. The court has directed the NIA to file a reply.

The prosecution had claimed that one of the men had received an amount through Western Union Money Transfer from Saudi Arabia, sent by another accused. It was further alleged that the accused were found with a revolver and live cartridges and that they planned to influence young Muslims. The men, in their bail applications earlier, had denied these allegations and claimed the investigators had not shown any evidence to show they were members of LeT.

First uploaded on: 07-11-2017 at 03:33 IST
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