The family of Sohail Mehboob Shaikh, who has been sentenced to life for his role in the Mumbai local train blasts of 2006, say they have faith in the justice system of country and “one day the world would come to know that Sohail has been falsely framed by the state’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS)”.

The family was reacting after the special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court in Mumbai on Wednesday sentenced five convicts in the case to death and seven others, one of whom is Sohail Shaikh, to life imprisonment.

Sohail (45) was picked up by the ATS from his home in Bhimpura are in Pune Camp 10 days after the blasts.

ATS had argued that Sohail underwent terror training in Pakistan.

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ATS claimed that Sohail, along with other convicts, Dr Tanveer Ahmed Ansari, Muzzamil Ataur Rehman Shaikh, Zamir Ahmed Latifur Rehman Shaikh, travelled to Pakistan via Iran on a Jiyarat visa, which is issued for visiting the tomb of the religious leader Imam Raza, located at the holy place of Mashad.

Sohail’s younger brother Rahel told The Indian Express on Wednesday, “The entire story of the ATS is a piece of fiction. He (Sohail) never went to Pakistan. ATS picked him up a few days after the blasts, saying he was being called for an inquiry. Later, he was charged for the terror attack. You can ask anyone in the neighbourhood. He is a very good human being and is loved by all. He fought with the family to marry a widow and also adopted her son.”
Sohail, a Class 12 dropout, had a shop near his home. He has two brothers and a sister, all younger to him. His wife and three children now stay with Rahel. His parents are no more.

Rahel has a welding and metal fabrication business.

Rahel further said, “We will fight the case in the higher courts. We have faith in our judicial system and the Constitution. One day, the world would come to know that Sohail is innocent and has been falsely framed by state ATS. This act of the government has ruined our life, but we will keep fighting.”

Asked whether Sohail knew any of the other convicts in the case, Rahel said, “One of them, Faisal, had come to stay in Pune in 2006 and Sohail met him through a friend in Kondhwa area. ATS got to Sohail because he had exchanged phone numbers with Faisal. He had nothing else to do with those people.”

According to the ATS, Sohail was among those who travelled in western railway local trains between Mumbai and Virar for reconnaissance of the targets. Bombs were planted to explode in the evening to cause maximum damage to life.

Pune link of terror funding

Investigating agencies say that Azam Chima of Lashkar-e-Taiba allegedly masterminded the Mumbai train blasts and that the money was sent through Mohammed Rizwan Daware and Raheel Ataur Rehman Sahikh to Mohammed Faisal, cone of the convicts.

Both Daware and Raheel Shaikh are from Pune and are still wanted in this case.