Ahmedabad: After nearly six months of the assassination of former Gujarat minister Haren Pandya, trial commenced on October 1 in the sensational murder case with Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) narrating the sequence of incidents and details of investigation to the special Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) court in Ahmedabad.

The CBI counsel formally started the trial under Section 226 of Criminal Procedure Court (CrPC) and read out the charges framed against 17 of the accused persons, including Hyderabad-based sharp- shooter Mohammed Asghar Ali and four Inter Services Intelligences (ISI) agents.

Special public prosecutor appearing for CBI, J M Panchal, said the details of the conspiracy that led to the killing of the prominent leader with an intent to spread terror among people of Gujarat, the investigation carried out by the agency and role played by each of the accused, was read out to the court in detail.

He said the role of the four ISI agents, who aided Ali in eliminating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, was also explained to the court in detail as also how they attempted to strike terror by triggering the series of "tiffin bomb" blasts inside four municipal buses on May 29, 2002 leaving 12 injured.

The trial is being conducted in-camera inside the Sabarmati central jail premises.

PTI