2006 Mumbai Train Blasts Case: Acquitted School Teacher Rallies For All 'Innocent Prisoners'

Urdu satirist Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi survived several dictatorial regimes in Pakistan without compromising on his wit and humour. Many people find solace in his writings and get inspired to face the toughest phases of their lives with a determined heart and a smiling face. Reading Yusufi, while being subjected to physical and mental torture by the sleuths of Mumbai (Anti-Terrorism Squad) ATS, has perhaps kept the hope and resolve alive in Abdul Wahid Sheikh, one of the 13 accused in 2006 Mumbai blasts case.

At least 209 people were killed and more than 700 hundred were officially declared injured in a series of seven blasts that took place in Mumbai Suburban Railway on July 11, 2006.

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Abdul Wahid was cleared of all the terror charges and released in 2015 after the Mumbai ATS failed to produce any evidence of his involvement in the deadly bombings. He, however, believes that other accused - who were convicted by the same court - are also innocent and have been framed in the case. In his book, ¡®Begunah Qaidi¡¯ ¨C which reveals the entire investigation of the case from an accused¡¯s perspective ¨C first released in Urdu and Hindi, Wahid recalls what the accused had to face in the case. It talks about how the proofs were fabricated to suit the narrative of the security agencies.

This book contains several details on how some professionals like lawyers and doctors work closely with the ATS to forge evidence to build up a particular case against anyone. The 504-page book is now available in English as ¡®Innocent Prisoners¡¯.

The book also covers case studies of German Bakery blasts 2010, Malegaon Blasts 2006, Aurangabad Arms Haul case 2006, Akshardham attack 2002 and the ¡®Indian Mujahideen¡¯ plank used by the security agencies.

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Wahid spoke to Indiatimes about his book, his life in and outside the jail, and his efforts to ensure that other innocent prisoners come out of jail and live as a free citizen of the country.

¡®More innocent than me¡¯

Wahid, who had to spend more than nine years of his life in Mumbai¡¯s Arthur Road Jail, says that others, who are still in jail in this particular case, are the victims of the Mumbai ATS that was working under pressure to solve the case.

¡°You will be writing about me and my story, that¡¯s not enough. There are others who have been framed in the case like me. But they too are innocent. More innocent than me,¡± pleads Wahid.

He was first arrested in 2001 when the Students¡¯ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) was banned by the government and many of its members were nabbed by the security agencies on various terror charges. Wahid was working as a primary school teacher at Mumbai¡¯s Anjuman Islam School. His was reinstated after getting a clean-chit in the case.

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¡°They booked me as a SIMI member under the UAPA, but couldn¡¯t find anything against me. In 2003, I got married and started a new life with a scar of being arrested on terror charges. However, my wife supported me all the while. When I was picked up in 2006 after the blasts, she was the one who informed every one, therefore, the police could not plant fake evidence at my home,¡± he recalls.

In September 2015, court found twelve people guilty for the blast. In its 1839-page verdict, the court awarded five of these convicts the death sentence, and the rest were handed life terms. Only Wahid was let off.

¡°Others could not understand the intentions of the police initially, they thought it was just an interrogation. Meanwhile, police planted false proofs against them, which proved that they were guilty. But police know very well what they have done to all of us,¡± says Wahid, adding that it was easy for the police to pick them because they had their names in police records. They had nothing to do with the train blasts, he reiterated.

"I am out, that's fine, but a part of me is still languishing in jail with the eleven accused, who are also innocent."

How Advocate Shahid Azmi helped disseminating the message

The idea of writing a book didn¡¯t come to Wahid all of a sudden. He had been contributing articles to Urdu dailies on current issues.

¡°Even when I was in jail, I used to write for Urdu newspapers. I am thankful that they published my work at that time. In 2007, we thought of making an annual report of what the ATS was doing in the case. We did it for the nest two years and were forced to stop it in 2009,¡± he says.

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¡°Late advocate Shahid Azmi used to translate our reports in English and share it with human rights activists and lawyers. Police used to snatch and destroy some parts of it. We had to stop doing this in 2009, but the idea of writing a book came during that time. I wanted it to be a document for all those who are the victims of this system.¡±

Azmi was assassinated by a gunmen at his office in Mumbai in February 2010.

When Mumbai ATS explained its logic

¡°You are Muslims, Muslims support Pakistan, Pakistan sends RDX, RDX can only be used by Muslims, Hindus can¡¯t carry out blasts in India.¡±

Wahid says that the Mumbai ATS had only presented this explanation, whenever they were asked about the reasons for making the 13 people accused in this case.

¡°It is clear that we were targeted because of our Muslim identity. The majority of police officers we have come across believe that Muslims are responsible for terrorist activities. I have learnt it during my stay in jail. If you are a Muslim, you will be a scapegoat,¡± laments Wahid.

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When asked if he ever thought of giving up his religious identity because of which he was targeted, he replied, ¡°Never, the realisation that we were targeted because of our religious identity brought us closer to our faith. We never stopped praying. It gave us strength to withstand all the atrocities.¡±

Disappointment with judiciary

Despite being let off by the court, Wahid feels that judiciary is not doing its work properly. He says that if the judiciary works in without preconceived notions, security agencies can¡¯t fake the proofs easily.

¡°Judiciary is meant for justice, not for toeing the dominant politics. Over the years we have seen that many cases are decided to suit the dominant political and security narrative. It breaks my heart to see judiciary behaving in such a way. It has resulted in injustice for many innocent people,¡± he says.

Prose, poetry and hopes of better times

While suffering mental and physical torture, Wahid says, he did not give up on small moments of joy with inmates as they all knew they were innocent and were hoping to come out of prison sooner rather than later.

¡°Whenever we were not interrogated or beaten up, we would sit and read poetry by Mirza Ghalib, Faiz Ahmad Faiz and Iqbal. We would recite romantic poetry too. That made us forget our mental and physical scars,¡± he says.

¡°I am a huge fan of humourist Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi. I read his four books while I was in jail. We all used to read and discuss what he has written.¡±

Wahid hopes that like him, other innocent prisoners across the country will get justice and their misery will end soon.

"I have travelled across India with my book. I tell people our stories. I know others are not guilty, police have told us privately that they are innocent. One day, i hope and pray, they will also be released."