UP govt nod for Waliullah prosecution in Varanasi blasts case

Uttar Pradesh government has sanctioned prosecution of Mohammad Walliullah under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for allegedly masterminding the Sankat Mochan temple and Cantonment railway station blasts in Varanasi in March 2006.

The district administration received a letter from the state government, granting permission for prosecution of Walliullah under Sections 15 and 16 of the act, the public relations officer of Senior Superintendent of Police Sujit Pandey said on Friday.

He said the prosecution would soon file a chargesheet against Walliullah.

This temple town was rocked by two powerful blasts at the on March 7, 2006 that left at least 20 people dead and over 100 injured. A third bomb, kept in a pressure cooker in Godowlia area was recovered and defused before it could explode.

Walliullah was arrested from a hideout in Lucknow in April and booked under various sections of the Explosive Substances Act, Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Unlawful Activities Act for his complicity in the blasts along with four others.

On the Allahabad High Court's orders, the trial was recently transferred from Varanasi District and Sessions court to Ghaziabad.