Cuttack: A district court in Cuttack on Tuesday acquitted Abdur Rehman in a case related to alleged links with Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), citing lack of sufficient evidence to prove the charges against him.
The District and Sessions Judge Court pronounced the verdict nearly 12 years after Rehman’s arrest by a joint team of the Bhubaneswar–Cuttack Commissionerate Police and the Special Cell of the Delhi Police from the Jagatpur area of Cuttack on December 15, 2016.
Rehman, a resident of Paschimakachha in Cuttack district, was accused of having alleged links with AQIS, an affiliate of the global terror network Al-Qaeda. Police had claimed that he was involved in recruiting cadres for the outfit and radicalising youths for terror-related activities.
Investigators had also alleged that Rehman was running a madrasa in the Tangi area on the outskirts of Cuttack, where children from economically weaker families of neighbouring Jharkhand were kept in allegedly poor living conditions.
The probe further claimed that Rehman was in contact with Mohammad Kafeel, who was killed during a failed attempt to attack Glasgow Airport in 2007. Officials had also alleged that Rehman had travelled to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates twice in 2015 and had made multiple visits to Jammu and Kashmir.
However, during the trial, the prosecution failed to establish the allegations with adequate evidence. The court, after examining the records and submissions, acquitted Rehman of all charges, holding that the case was not proven beyond reasonable doubt.
Speaking to the media, defence counsel Satyaranjan Mulia said the prosecution’s case collapsed due to lack of proof.
“As per the chargesheet, the Crime Branch made several claims, but they failed to prove them during the trial. There were three cases against Abdur Rehman—one with the Delhi NIA, one in Jamshedpur, and the present case in Cuttack. In the earlier case, he had served seven years of imprisonment; in another, he was acquitted. In this Jagatpur case, he remained in custody for nearly 12 years. He was arrested in 2016, and the allegations included offences under Sections 18, 19, 20, and 21 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code,” he said.
Mulia further added that allegations regarding recruitment and alleged terror links were not supported by evidence during the trial, leading to his client’s acquittal.
