Court rejects Kazmi’s bail, cites prima-facie evidence

NEW DELHI: A trial court on Tuesday denied bail to journalist Syed Mohammed Ahmad Kazmi, saying there was prima-facie evidence of his involvement in the terror strike on an Israeli diplomat.
“Suffice it to say that at this stage on the basis of call records of the mobile phone recovered from the applicant and the statement of witnesses, it is clearly apparent that the basis of allegations against Kazmi of conspiring with the actual assailants are there, which prima facie show that he had a role to play in this terror strike,” chief metropolitan magistrate Vinod Yadav said.
Kazmi had moved court seeking bail on the ground that the investigating agency had not sought further police remand, which showed that he has already disclosed whatever information he had and that the police have arrested him on false charges of conspiring and helping the accused.
Rejecting his plea, the court said, “Considering the gravity of offences, the severity of punishment prescribed under the law for such offences, the stage of investigation, and the large-scale international ramifications of the investigation, I am not inclined to admit applicant on bail at this stage.”
Kazmi’s counsel had claimed that his client had not received any financial help in the case and the foreign currency recovered from him was his son’s, who gets his salary in dollars. The court, however, rejected the contention and said, “From the perusal of the material it is apparent that Kazmi was in touch with the assailants; he probably got the money in relation to this conspiracy as well, for which the Enforcement Directorate has already issued notice to him and his wife and he said proceedings are going on before appropriate forum.
“Further, the vehicle stated to be used by the assailants for a recce of the Israeli Embassy was recovered from the residence of
Kazmi.”
The court further said that the material collected by the agency during the investigation disclosed that “Kazmi was in touch with some of the terrorists who had planned the strike in three countries simultaneously upon the diplomats of a particular country”.