26/11 plotter Jundal convicted in 2006 case

Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service

Mumbai, July 28

Twelve people, including 26/11 key plotter Sayed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal of the Lashkar-e-Toiba, were today convicted by a special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court in the 2006 Aurangabad arms haul case.

The court also acquitted eight others arrested in the case. While one accused had turned approver, another is still absconding.

Judge Shrikant Anekar found all of them guilty of planning an attack on then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Pravin Togadia to avenge the post-Godhra riots of 2002.

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The case came to light after the Anti-Terror Squad arrested three persons travelling in a Tata Sumo near Aurangabad. The ATS said a haul of 30-kg RDX, 10 AK-47 assault rifles, 3,200 rounds of ammunition and other weapons were found.

A second vehicle driven by Abu Jundal, however, managed to escape. Jundal, the police said, escaped to Bangladesh. He then went to Pakistan before moving on to Saudi Arabia, from where he was deported in 2012.