New Delhi, September 6
The Supreme Court today stayed the death sentence of two terrorists in the daring attack on the Akshardham Temple in Ahmedabad in which 33 persons were killed in 2002. Four death row convicts had alleged that tainted IPS officer D Vanzara, arrested in connection with the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case, had implicated them in the attack.

It also sought the Gujarat Government’s response to a plea for a re-investigation by the CBI or any other independent probe agency.

The apex court issued notice to the Gujarat Government on the appeal of death row convicts Adambhai Sulemanbhai Ajmeri, Abdul Kayum alias Muftisaab Mohmedbha and two others who alleged that tainted IPS officer D Vanzara, arrested in connection with the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case, had implicated them in the attack carried out on September 22, 2002.

The petitioner, through counsel Anis Suhrawardy and Mehdi Imamam, submitted before a Bench of Justices B Sudershan Reddy and SS Nijjar that they were erroneously convicted and sentenced to death by the Special POTA court by relying on false evidence produced by the Gujarat Police, which included Vanzara, then a Deputy Commissioner of Police. According to the appeal, the matter needs to be re-investigated by the CBI or any other independent investigating agency as it involved the life and liberty of the citizen, which cannot be left to the whims and caprice of the prosecution.

The petitioners submitted that the Gujarat Police had implicated them and till date was not able to establish the identity of the two Fidayeens shot dead during the encounter. According to the petitioners, the High Court failed to appreciate these facts while confirming the death sentence.

Besides the two death convicts, Mohmed Salim Hanif Shaikh and Abdullamiya Yasinmiya Kadri have filed the appeal challenging the life imprisonment and 10-year sentence imposed on them, respectively in the terrorist attack. On September 24, 2002, at around 4.30 pm, Fidayeens armed with AK-56 rifles and hand grenades committed mayhem at the temple killing 33 devotees. NSG commandos managed to shoot down two of them to death. — PTI