Sayed Zabiuddin Ansari, alias Abu Jundal, a key plotter of the 26/11 terror attacks, is declared guilty in the 2006 Aurangabad arms haul case. Of 22 accused in the case, the special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court held 12 guilty. Eight accused were acquitted, one fled during the trial and there will be a separate trial for one who turned approver. After a ten-year-long wait, the case concluded as Special MCOCA Judge Shrikant Anekar delivered the verdict.

"This was a conspiracy after the 2002 Gujarat riots to eliminate the then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi and VHP leader Pravin Togadia," the MCOCA court said.

According to the prosecution, the consignment came in an unknown army-green coloured tempo at Pimpli-Dhulia village, where some of the Pakistani nationals along with Abu Jundal and other accused shifted the consignment into the Tata Sumo and Tata Indica before transporting it. The prosecution has examined total 100 witnesses and more than 2000 documents to show that the arms were found from the possession of the accused.

Maharashtra ATS team arrested the three terror suspects on May 8, 2006 and seized 30kg of RDX, 10 AK-47 assault rifles and 3,200 bullets after chasing 2 cars on the Chandwad-Manmad highway near Aurangabad.

Jundal, a Lashkar oprative, was at the time apparently driving one of the cars and got away. The terrorist, who hails from the Beed district of Maharashtra, is said to have driven to Malegaon, after which police said that he escaped to Bangladesh and then to Pakistan. He was deported to India from Saudi Arabia in 2012.

Jundal was charged on 23 different counts, including criminal conspiracy, waging war against the nation, criminal conspiracy, murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping for murder, cheating, forgery and for abetting the terror attack from Pakistan under Indian Penal Code (IPC).

By Premji