Faheem Ansari

Faheem Ansari, also known as Mohammad Faheem Ansari,[1] is an Indian Muslim who was charged with involvement in the 2008 Mumbai attacks on false grounds. He was also charged with being a member of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT),[2] an Islamic terrorist organization. All these allegations were proven wrong. He was arrested in February 2009 along with five others,[2] charged with these crimes and prosecuted, but was acquitted after being given benefit of doubt. The late Shahid Azmi was his lawyer and fought his case pro bono. Faheem Ansari was discharged by court in May 2010, a few months after Shahid Azmi's death by gunmen in February 2010.[3][4] He was released after 12 years of detention because of a case, in which he was acquitted because of lack of evidence.[5]

Background

Ansari's family was originally from Uttar Pradesh, but he was born and raised in Mumbai. He is married to Yasmin, with whom he has a daughter, Iqra. [6] In 2007, he returned to Mumbai and stayed there for about three months.[7] Though his parents and brothers were residing in the Goregaon suburb of the city, he made no attempt to contact them during his entire stay.[7] He first stayed at a guest house in Grant Road, but after a few weeks rented a small accommodation.[7] Ansari had initially planned on renting an accommodation in Colaba, but due to the high rent there, decided to settle at Grant Road.[7]

The Mumbai police alleged that Ansari did a reconnaissance of several prominent Mumbai landmarks, including the Mumbai Stock Exchange, the Mumbai police headquarters at Crawford Market, the Maharashtra police headquarters at Colaba, the Mahalakshmi Temple and the Siddhivinayak temple.[7] Ansari went to the Taj Hotel and Oberoi Trident as a tourist and shot video footage of the interiors.[7]

Arrest

On 10 February 2008, Uttar Pradesh police arrested Ansari along with five others.[2] These included Pakistani nationals Romez alias "Amar Singh" and Sehwez alias "Ajay Malhotra" and Indian nationals Sohel, Sawauddin (or Sabauddin) Sanju and Baba Jung Bahadur.[2] He was arrested for his involvement with an attack on a Central Reserve Police Force camp in Rampur on 31 December 2007, in which 7 paramilitary personnel and 1 civilian were killed.[1][2][8] The interrogation revealed that Ansari had performed reconnaissance over twelve places in Mumbai, including government, police, transportation, tourist and financial sites over the course of two months.[1][9] However, Ansari later alleged that the Mumbai police conveniently made him a scapegoat and deliberately falsified evidence against him.[4]

Alleged role in the Mumbai attacks and acquittal

On 31 December 2008, Ansari, along with Sabahuddin Shaikh, was formally accused of aiding the November 2008 attackers in Bombay.[3] The interrogation of Ajmal Qasab and of Ansari, revealed that none of the attackers had been in the city before the attacks, and acted solely on intelligence provided by Ansari.[10] On 11 February 2010, his lawyer Shahid Azmi was murdered in what was suspected by authorities to be a professional contract killing.[11] On 3 May 2010, Ansari and the co-accused Sabahuddin Shaikh were acquitted of any complicity in the attacks. In the acquittal, the Judge blasted the Bombay police for the case it made against him and Sabahuddin Shaikh.[12] They were shifted from Arthur Road Jail to Uttar Pradesh to stand trial in connection with the CRPF camp attack at Rampur in 2007.[8]

Sexual harassment

Advocate Ejaz Naqvi, the lawyer for Ansari, presented in court an allegation that a female FBI agent had removed all of Ansari's clothes and showed him pornographic films.[13] Naqvi also requested that Ansari be taken for a medical examination.[14] The court asked the Crime Branch to investigate and report by 26 February 2009,[14] and ordered the medical examination.[13] Ansari had earlier questioned the right of FBI agents to interrogate him.[14]

See also
  • Shahid, 2012 film about Shahid Azmi

Citations
  1. Khan, Atiq (30 November 2008). "U.P. to sensitise hoteliers on security issues". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 5 December 2008. Retrieved 17 February 2009.
  2. "Yet another terror plot to target Mumbai foiled". Indo Asian News Service. 10 February 2009. Retrieved 17 February 2009.
  3. "26/11 attacks: Ansari, Sabauddin remanded to police custody". Indian Express – citing agencies. 31 December 2008. Retrieved 17 February 2009.
  4. NDTV correspondent (30 March 2009). "Co-accused Fahim Ansari, Sabahuddin, acquitted". NDTV. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  5. Sharma, Aman. "Faheem Ansari can walk free". The Economic Times.
  6. "It is an honourable acquittal, says Faheem Ansari's wife". The Times of India. 5 May 2010. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  7. Baweja 2009, pp. 164–165
  8. "Faheem Ansari, Sabauddin shifted to UP". Indian Express. 2 June 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  9. Hafeez, Mateen (17 February 2008). "LeT man did recce of 12 places in Mumbai". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2009.
  10. Hafeez, Mateen (2 January 2009). "Qasab, aides never did city recce". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2009.
  11. Blakely, Rhys (12 February 2010). "Bombay terror lawyer Shahid Azmi killed in 'professional hit'". Times of India. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
  12. NDTV correspondent (3 May 2010). "Co-accused Faheem Ansari, Sabahuddin, acquitted". NDTV. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  13. Leach, Ben (11 February 2009). "Female FBI officer 'tortured Mumbai terror attacks suspect with sex'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 17 February 2009.
  14. Kartikeya (10 February 2009). "LeT man accuses FBI agent of 'sexual assault'". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2009.

References
  • Baweja, Harinder (2009). 26/11: Mumbai attacked. Mumbai, India: Roli Books. ISBN 978-81-7436-707-5..
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