Trial of Abu Jundal, 26/11 handler who taught the terrorists Hindi, to resume after Bombay HC ruling

The long‑stalled trial of Zabiuddin Ansari, alias Abu Jundal, who taught Hindi and local mannerisms to the 10 terrorists involved in the horrific 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, is set to finally resume after the Bombay High Court on Monday quashed a lower court order asking authorities to hand over confidential documents to the accused.

A Bench of Justice RN Laddha allowed the petition filed by the Delhi Police, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, and the Ministry of External Affairs challenging the trial court’s 2018 directive that required them to furnish specific confidential documents sought by Ansari.

The trial in the 26/11 terror attacks case against Ansari had been on hold since 2018, pending the resolution of a petition filed by government authorities.

Ansari is accused of having not only planned the attacks, but also of personally training the ten Pakistani terrorists who struck Mumbai on November 26, 2008, specifically teaching them Hindi and crucial details about Mumbai’s topography to help them blend in.

Ansari had filed an application before a special court in Mumbai seeking certain documents to substantiate his claim that he was arrested in Saudi Arabia and then deported to India. The trial court had granted his request in 2018.

The Special Cell of the Delhi Police claimed that Ansari, a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative, was nabbed from outside the airport in the national capital.

In 2018, the trial court had directed authorities to furnish the documents sought by Ansari, prompting the authorities to approach the Bombay High Court seeking a stay on the order.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, argued for the quashing of the trial court’s order, claiming it was “bad in law.” The high court on Monday upheld the Centre’s petition, thereby paving the way for the trial to restart.

The attacks, carried out by 10 heavily armed Pakistani terrorists who entered the financial capital from the Arabian Sea on the night of November 26, 2008, claimed 166 lives, including foreigners.

Investigators allege that Ansari played a key role as a handler of the terrorists. The sole terrorist caught alive, Ajmal Kasab, was convicted and sentenced to death by a special court in 2010 and was hanged in Pune’s Yerwada Jail in November 2012.

Ansari has been facing a spate of terror charges from Delhi Police, National Investigation Agency, police forces from Maharashtra, Bangalore and Gujarat.

In 2016, Ansari was also among seven convicts sentenced to life imprisonment by a special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court in the 2006 Aurangabad arms haul case.

He had managed to give police the slip and drove to Malegaon and a few days later he escaped to Bangladesh from where he fled to Pakistan.

Ansari’s name had resurfaced as the man whose voice was intercepted in the Karachi-based control room which had been giving instructions to the terrorists carrying out the 26/11 terror attack.

In 2012, agencies had narrowed down his location to Saudi Arabia and had confirmed it through DNA samples taken from his family based in Beed. He was deported to India from Saudi Arabia in June 2012.

During interrogation, Ansari spoke about his association with various Lashker commanders and his meetings with the founder of the terror outfit Hafeez Saeed and their recruitment plans using cyberspace.