NIA report gives clean chit to Liyaqat, court to consider on September 21

By NewsGram Staff Writer

New Delhi: A court here on Thursday decided to consider the NIA report on Sayyed Liyaqat Shah, allegedly accused of executing terror attacks, on Sept. 21.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) gave a clean chit to Shah alias Liyaqat Bukhari, who was arrested by the Delhi Police in March 2013 for coming to India with the intention of indulging in terrorist activities. According to court sources, Patiala House Courts District Judge Amar Nath, delayed the hearing for September 21 during in-camera proceedings.

The NIA supplied a copy of chargesheet with documents to Shah. The court also allowed his application of seeking permanent exemption based on the grounds of his economic status which cannot afford him frequent travels from Kashmir to Delhi to attend hearings. Shah's defense council Asim Ali had brought to the notice of the court that his client earned his livelihood by working as a labourer to provide for his five-member family.

The NIA dropped charges against Shah on Jan. 24 in a chargesheet against Sabir Khan Pathan, alleging that he was responsible for the placement of weapons and explosives in a guest house room near Jama Masjid.

Delhi Police said that a Special Cell team raided the Haji Arafat Guest House, recovering arms, ammunition and explosives, on the basis of his disclosure statement. On the other hand, the NIA filed a chargesheet against Pathan under charges dealing with forgery and various sections of the Arms Act and the Explosive Substances Act. Currently, Pathan is on the run.

The Delhi Police Special Cell arrested Shah on March 20, 2013, while he was returning from Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) to the Kashmir Valley via Nepal, but was later released on bail.

The people in Jammu and Kashmir had protested against Shah's arrest saying that he was simply returning home as per the state government's policy of allowing people who had departed to PoK in the early 1990s to return.