By Muslim Mirror Staff
New Delhi: Mohammed Ilyas (38) and Mohammed Irfan (33) were released on Tuesday night as they were found innocent by a special NIA court in Mumbai after spending nine years in jail.
The cleared Mohammed Ilyas (38) and Mohammed Irfan (33), both residents of Nanded, of all charges due to lack of evidence. Meanwhile, the court found three others guilty and sentenced to ten years in jail. The convicts are identified Mohammed Akram, Mohammad Muzammil and Mohammed Sadique.
The five persons were arrested from Nanded in August 2012 by the Maharashtra ATS, which linked them to a seizure of firearms and said they were part of a Lashkar-e-Toiba conspiracy to kill politicians, police officers and journalists.
Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind who assisted the accused in their legal battle expressed concerns over imprisonment of Ilyas and Irfan. Gulzar Azmi, a senior office bearer of the JUH demanded action against cops involved in their arrest.
A news report published in Inquilab, an Urdu newspaper, quoted Ilyas and Irfan as saying that they were tortured in police custody and forced to confess to crime.