Mumbai: The special public prosecutor appointed by the state’s the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) Ujjwal Nikam in the Mumbai triple blasts case of 2011, also known as the 13/7 blasts, has resigned from the position as special public prosecutor. The state has appointed a new prosecutor - Ajay Misar as his replacement.
In the incident, three coordinated bomb blasts in Zaveri Bazaar, Opera House and Dadar's Kabutarkhana had killed 26 persons and injured 130 others. Only in Feb this year, the trial in the case had begun with the first witness being examined, 12 years after the incident.
10 persons to face trial
Ten persons face trial in the case. An eleventh one died of Covid-19 during the pandemic. Among the accused, Yasin Bhatkal, founder of the terror outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM), is allegedly the main conspirator.
The court had framed charges in the case against most of the accused in September 2019. The step would pave the way for the trial to begin. The court framed charges of offences against the accused for them to stand trial. It took another four years for the trial to begin. One of the reasons for the delay was due to the framing of charges against other accused being delayed. The reason being, that they were in different prisons spread across states, being accused in other cases too and the court had to ensure their physical presence for the procedure.
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