New Delhi: Wahid Shaikh, acquitted in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case by a trial court in 2015, filed a complaint Friday with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission, demanding a compensation of “Rs 9 crore for 9 years of wrongful incarceration”.
Shaikh spent nine years in Mumbai’s Arthur Road jail for the 2006 Mumbai train blasts. Of the 13 men accused in the 2006 blasts that killed 189 people, Shaikh was the only one acquitted by the trial court in September 2015. He had been charged with harbouring some of the accused after they planted the bomb but was granted the benefit of doubt as the court felt that the allegations against him had not been proved.
In July this year, the Bombay High Court acquitted all 12 men convicted for the blasts, overturning the 2015 verdict by a special court that had awarded death penalty to five and life terms to the other seven.
In his complaint, seen by ThePrint, Shaikh asserts that he was only 28 when he was arrested. The complaint says he the nine years in jail “spent in wrongful custody, coupled with brutal custodial torture, have left me and my family devastated in ways no measure can fully repair”.
“The wrongful imprisonment during these years caused a severe nine-year gap in my professional and personal life. My career, education and personal development were irreparably destroyed. The stigma of being falsely branded a “terrorist” has continued to haunt me even after acquittal, leaving permanent scars on my dignity and livelihood,” Shaikh adds.
His complaint says that he has been forced into a debt of nearly Rs 30 lakh in these years, and that he was turned away by most employers because of the stigma attached to the ‘conviction’. He has since found work as a school teacher in Mumbai, but points out that he is the sole earner, responsible for his wife, four young children, and mother.
“I humbly request the commission to grant me adequate compensation of Rs 9 crore for the nine years of wrongful imprisonment, custodial torture, and the continuing physical, financial, and psychological suffering that I and my family endure,” the complaint says, adding, “compensation cannot bring back my lost years, but it can provide some relief and recognition of the grave injustice done to me”.
He has also requested rehabilitation support, considering his poor health and financial condition.
Shaikh has also written to the central and state minority commissions, pointing out the the loss of liberty and dignity that he endured during the nine years, the “severe police torture”, and his ongoing health problems.
Among other things, he lists “the death of my father during my incarceration; he died under the stigma of having a “terrorist son”, “serious deterioration of my mother’s mental health under similar stigma”, and “educational setbacks for my children due to absence of father and financial strain”.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
Also read: Jailed for years: Why India needs a right to compensation for wrongful arrests & detention