'They asked me to become approver, offered ₹10L, job in Dubai, but I refused'
MUMBAI: A day after the Bombay high court judgment acquitted him from the charge of conspiracy in the 11/7 train blasts, Mohammed Ali Shaikh's Govandi residence was filled with relatives and neighbours who greeted him with sweets, while phones buzzed with congratulatory calls.
"The happiness of reuniting with my family cannot be described. After 19 years, I sat with my wife, children, brothers and sisters and had food," said Shaikh (56), as he sat with the TOI reporter at the threshold of his house on Tuesday.
"The high court has freed us. Truth has triumphed. We will fight our case in the Supreme Court if need be, and are sure to win," he added.
Shaikh received word about their acquittal during an online court hearing.
"Ehtesham Siddiqui and I were released from Nagpur jail on Monday evening and flew to Mumbai at 3.30am Tuesday."
"We were falsely implicated, tortured, and humiliated. Even my 11-year-old son was slapped by an ATS officer," he recalled. "ATS officers would visit my house and harass my family. They threatened me at gunpoint and asked me to become approver, even offering me Rs 10 lakh, a job in Dubai and Rs 10,000 monthly expenses if I complied.
But I did not accept as we were innocent."
The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had claimed that a Pakistani had visited Shaikh's home and manufactured the bombs that were planted on the trains on July 11, 2006. "Everything was a lie. They tarnished our image, imprisoned Shaikh and ruined our families," said a relative.
When lodged in Thane jail, Shaikh had applied for parole after his brother Munawwar passed away, but it was rejected.
Later his father died. "This time, they sanctioned parole, but the fee for police escort from Thane jail to Govandi was Rs 1.7 lakh. How could I afford it?" he rued.
In jail, Shaikh passed two courses in tourism, completed graduation in Arts, and appeared for the first-year exam for MA (History). He plans to complete his post-graduation.
Meanwhile, Zameer Shaikh (50), a key-maker from Worli who was released from Amravati jail on Monday evening after his acquittal, told TOI over the phone: "I am thankful to Allah. I am travelling right now." He said his son, who was in Class 1 when he was arrested in 2006, has become a mechanical engineer and his daughter is also studying. He added that he misses his parents, who died when he was in jail. Zameer was sentenced to life imprisonment by a trial court for allegedly receiving arms training in Pakistan and for alleged links with the Matunga train blast.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
13 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Gaikwad comes up with an ‘agreement' to ‘fight' AIMIM MP Imtiaz Jaleel
Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad on Wednesday said that he is ready to 'fight it out' with former AIMIM MP Imtiaz Jaleel, who had allegedly threatened to beat Gaikwad. He also said that he has made an 'agreement' on Rs 500 stamp duty paper for the 'fight' with Jaleel. Responding to Gaikwad's challenge Jaleel said that the chapter is closed for him and asked the Sena MLA to not indulge in cheap publicity gimmicks. Gaikwad was caught in a controversy after he slapped a staffer of the Akashwani MLA hostel canteen in Mumbai earlier this month. Following this Jaleel had said, 'If I was in place of the canteen owner, I would have thrashed Gaikwad,' On Wednesday speaking at a rally in Buldhana Gaikwad said, 'I have come up with an agreement duly signed on Rs 500 stamp paper. Jaleel has given me a personal challenge. Jaleel and I will fight it out. There will be no use of weapons. Whatever happens in this fight, we both will be responsible for it. Jaleel should decide the day, time and venue for this fight,' he said. 'The chapter is closed for me..I do not want to indulge in unnecessary verbal duel with him. I want to continue to focus on development in my area as well in Maharashtra. I have no time to indulge in such publicity gimmicks. I would urge Gaikwad too to stop indulging in such tactics,' Jaleel told The Indian Express.
Indian Express
15 minutes ago
- Indian Express
How 19-year-old Bhuj boy's Goa ‘escapade' uncovered family friend's bid to hide a crime
A case of two teenagers allegedly escaping from their house in Bhuj to Goa — only to get caught by the Ahmedabad Crime Branch while trying to board a flight to Kolkata later — saw an interesting twist after a complaint by the mother of one of the boys and the subsequent arrest of two men. Arrested accused Rahul Solanki and Ravi Maheswari were allegedly blackmailing 19-year-old Ishan Singh Rajput and forcing him to flee to Goa with friends. While co-accused Ravi's role is still under investigation, Rahul, who allegedly took away cash and jewellery from the teenager's house, wanted a cover-up for the crime. As Ishan's mother, Twinkle Singh Rajput, was already not in the city when Rahul committed the crime, the accused wanted to make it look like a theft had taken place after Ishan had left for Goa and there was nobody at the house, police said. A day after Ishan and another 17-year-old were 'rescued' by the Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad and handed over to their families who had accompanied the police from Kutch, the Bhuj 'A' Division police filed an FIR based on the complaint of Twinkle. They are now investigating a case of blackmail and extortion. As per the FIR, seen by The Indian Express, complainant Twinkle, a 50-year-old whose husband passed away in January, stated that while she lives in Bhuj with her 19-year-old son (Ishan) who studies in Class 12, her 27-year-old daughter studies in a college in Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow. The complainant said that on July 16, she had gone to Lucknow and that she had kept all her jewellery and other valuables in the locker of their house before leaving. Five days later, on July 21 morning, her daughter told her that she had received a call from her brother Ishan who said he had left for Goa and that they should not follow him if they did not want him to take an 'adverse step', the FIR states. Soon after, the complainant received a call from her 'family friend' Rahul, who is in his 20s, and she informed him that she was returning to Bhuj and asked him to pick her up at the airport. Around 3.15 pm on July 21, the complainant landed in Bhuj where she was picked up by Rahul. She said she sat in an SUV and Rahul drove her home. Rahul allegedly also told her that he had spoken to Ishan around 10 pm on July 20 and that Ishan told him that he was in Goa, but refused to share further details. After Rahul dropped her home, Twinkle went to her room only to find her cupboard and locker open, allegedly with valuables worth around Rs 32.30 lakh missing. In her complaint, Twinkle also said that she initially thought that her son Ishan had fled with the valuables. She then went with Rahul to Bhuj 'A' Division police station where she informed the police about her missing son. The police launched a probe. Soon, they found out that Ishan and another minor were in Ahmedabad and were likely on their way to Goa. Inspector A M Patel of Bhuj 'A' Division police called his batchmate, Inspector Mahendra Salhunke of Ahmedabad DCB, and sought help. The Crime Branch, with the help of technical surveillance, traced the two teens to a hotel in Ahmedabad. Inspector Salhunke told The Indian Express, 'After we received information about the boys from Bhuj police on Monday evening, we launched a technical surveillance and found that they were staying at a hotel. By the time we reached the hotel, they had checked out. However, we learnt that they were headed to the airport and were going to fly out of the city.' The Crime Branch then informed the airport police and staffers about the boys and requested them not to allow the boys to board a flight. When Crime Branch officials and the airport police spotted the youths, they had already completed their luggage check-in process, but were eventually stopped from boarding a flight to Kolkata and handed over to the Bhuj police. It was then that the complainant asked her son Ishan as to why he had run away from home. Twinkle told the police, 'Ishan told me that two months ago, he had consumed liquor and smoked cigarettes with Rahul and that the latter had thereafter shown him videos that he had taken of Ishan engaging in these vices. Ishan said Rahul had asked him to steal Rs 15 lakh from our house and give it to him threatening to share the video with me (Twinkle).' As per the FIR, Ishan told his mother that on July 18, Rahul had visited Ishan at his house, threatened him with the videos again and obtained the location of the locker where the valuables were kept. He then allegedly tried to break open the locker, but failed. Rahul left after Ishan started crying, it stated. Ishan further told his mother that on July 19 night, while he was playing video games with his two minor friends, Rahul arrived to threaten him again. After Rahul allegedly failed to break open the locker again, Rahul allegedly took Ishan to a key-maker near a mall to get a duplicate key made for the locker. To allay the key-maker's suspicion, Rahul allegedly told him that Ishan was an officer at the Air Force base in Naliya and that he needed to submit some documents early in the morning, but those were inside a locker and they needed to access it immediately. The FIR further stated that they got the key made around 12.15 am on July 20. Rahul then took the valuables from the house and left. The next day, Rahul met Ishan again and asked him to leave for Goa and stay there for a few days, promising that after the matter of theft subsides, he would call Ishan back, the FIR also stated. Ishan said Rahul allegedly gave him and the two friends Rs 70,000 and booked a Goa package for them. However one of his minor friends refused to go, and thus only Ishan left with the other friend for Ahmedabad. They, however, missed their flight to Goa and stayed in a hotel in Ahmedabad, as instructed by Rahul, who also asked them to book another flight to Kolkata. Rahul also allegedly informed them that the police were looking for the two and asked them not to give away their location. Before they could board the flight to Kolkata, they were caught.. Police Inspector Patel said, 'Rahul Bhagwanji Solanki and Ravi Mohan Maheshwari were booked under BNS sections 308(5) (extortion), 351 (criminal intimidation), 61 (criminal conspiracy), and 46 (abettor present).' Further investigation is underway.
Hans India
15 minutes ago
- Hans India
Maha housing policy sets ambitious target of construction of 35 lakh houses
Mumbai: In a serious bid to pursue its vision of 'My House, My Right', by 2030, the Maharashtra government on Wednesday released a government resolution on the Housing Policy 2025. The government, which expects an investment of Rs 70,000 crore during the implementation of this ambitious housing policy, proposes to construct 35 lakh houses in five years. Further, the government plans to increase the size of MahaAwas Fund to Rs 20,000 crore. The ultimate target is to build 50 lakh houses in the next 10 years. To achieve this ambitious target, existing provisions under the Development Control and Promotion Regulations/Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations and relevant institutional frameworks will be strengthened and modified as needed. Additionally, active participation from the private sector will be promoted through a range of incentive-based measures. The government proposes to carry out a comprehensive programme for slum rehabilitation and redevelopment. The specific needs of low-income earners, senior citizens, women, industrial workers and students will be given priority consideration in the policy. The district land banks of the government and semi-government lands will be created. The state-level portal will soon be developed for providing information on housing development through government-private sector partnership, through developers and also through state-run undertakings. The policy, which focuses on housing for all, also aims to achieve a slum-free state by laying emphasis on the economically weaker sections (EWS), lower income group (LIG) and middle income group (MIG) segments of the policy. The policy proposes affordable housing initiatives, redevelopment of old buildings to improve living conditions and optimise land use and transforming slums through public-private partnerships. It promotes inclusive housing by capturing resources created by the private market, integrated townships that offer affordable housing with essential services, and industrial workers' housing to ensure proximity to workplaces. Affordable housing has been given infrastructure status. This enables the developers to avail of External Commercial Borrowing (ECB), Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for their projects. It is also a sector eligible for Priority Sector Lending (PSL) from Banks and HFCs. On the concept of Walk to Work, around 10 per cent to 30 per cent land should be reserved for housing in MIDC (Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation) areas. Such land should be handed over to the appropriate authority at the applicable acquisition price, so that authority can create an adequate housing stock in such areas. The authority can also partner with the private industries to provide housing for industrial workers in a PPP model. The policy proposes to reserve 10 per cent to 15 per cent of the land suitable for housing projects adjacent to the ambitious infrastructure projects (adjacent to Samruddhi Highway, Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor). The policy focuses on green building initiatives to promote sustainable development through eco-friendly practices and certifications. To ensure inclusive development, the policy also attempts to address affordable housing for other vulnerable groups such as senior citizens, working women, students, Project Affected Persons (PAPs) and migrant workers. Senior citizen housing addresses unique safety and accessibility needs, and community support, and housing for students and working women ensures safety and affordability. Project-Affected Persons (PAP) housing provides solutions for those displaced by development projects. Affordable rental housing schemes cater to transient populations, including migrant workers and students. Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHC) scheme under PMAY and rental housing projects under other state schemes will be leveraged to provide rental housing for migrant industrial workers. Amid burgeoning challenges due to climate change, the policy advocates the construction of resilient housing towards climate change mitigation and adaptation. Such housing is designed to minimise damage, reduce vulnerability and reduce the impacts of adverse weather conditions. The policy proposes a slew of incentives including single window clearance, 1 per cent GST, floor space index (FSI) up to 2.5 per cent, commercial use permitted up to 10 per cent of utilised FSI, concession in development changes, waiver of Registration and Stamp Duty charges to the operators, reduced Property Tax for first ten years of operation and 100 per cent deduction on the profit of operating student housing. In case of slum rehabilitation schemes on public land, the slum rehabilitation schemes can be implemented in a Joint Venture (JV) by setting up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) and adopting the Dharavi model of 20:80. For this purpose, the initiative will require the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) to set up a special purpose company in which the SRA should hold a 20 per cent stake with voting rights. In order to promote adoption of new and innovative construction technologies and cost-effective, environment-friendly, locally available and disaster-resilient construction materials, the government has offered sops including income tax deductions on expenses on innovative construction technology, reduced GST on materials and a technology innovation grant. In order to promote construction finance, the government proposes to set up state state-level distressed asset fund, an amnesty scheme and interest-free loans. In addition, a state-level constitution fund will be set up to support affordable housing and housing projects by public authorities, public-private partnerships, as well as projects by private developers.
