The Bombay High Court has granted bail to Bilal Ahmed, a convict in the 2006 Aurangabad arms recovery case. Bilal Ahmed is in jail for the last 16 years and is serving a life sentence. The High Court, while hearing the matter, observed that merely attending a meeting of terrorists or encouraging them to engage in jihad is not sufficient to hold that the person concerned was prepared to play a major role in jihad.
A division bench of Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice Virendrasinh Bisht on Friday said in its bail order that there were confessions of other co-accused against Bilal Ahmed that he was present in the meeting, but it would not be sufficient in the absence of other concrete evidence.
This matter also has a big connection with PM Modi. During the hearing of the case, it was revealed that their motive was to kill Narendra Modi and Praveen Togadia. Seven accused were arrested in this case. The special judge, who heard the trial in 2016, had said in his judgment that all these accused were part of a larger conspiracy to assassinate the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
The accused were convicted by a special judge for offenses under the MCOC Act, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), the Explosive Substances Act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Ahmed was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2016.
Let us inform that on May 2006, the State Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had received a tip-off that a jeep carrying a huge cache of arms and ammunition was to be taken to Aurangabad. The jeep was intercepted by the ATS. And the main accused was arrested. Later on the basis of the statement of the accused, Bilal Ahmed was arrested.
During the hearing of the same case, the special judge, after analyzing the confessional statements, concluded that the recovered arms, ammunition and explosives were to be used to kill the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Pravin Togadia. was.