Thursday, May 5 2005 09:00 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Ahmedabad: The Central Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) Review Committee has recommended to remove sections of the anti-terrorist law slapped on three of the 19 persons accused in the murder case of former Gujarat Home Minister Haren Pandya.

The accused against whom POTA offences have been recommended to be dropped include Sayed Iftekar, Mohd Abdul Bari, Mohd Yusuf Maniyari, advocate J M Panchal, representing the prosecution told sources yesterday (May 4, 2005).

"This recommendation is only for three of the accused persons. However, the central POTA Review Committee has maintained that the anti-terror law is applicable on all the remaining accused persons," the advocate said.

Though the specific reasons behind the move is not clear the advocate said that the central POTA committee had told the Gujarat Government to remove the sections.

The Committee had also recently visited the city and reviewed almost all the POTA cases and had reviewed the Haren Pandya assassination case on April 9.

Of the three accused Sayed Iftekar belongs to Hyderabad, Mohd Abdul Bari is from Nalgonda in Andhra Pradesh while Mohd Yusuf Maniyari is from Ahmedabad.

Of the 19 accused persons include the alleged sharpshooter from Hyderabad Mohammed Asgar Ali and other youths from Hyderabad and Ahmedabad who, the CBI allege, went to Pakistan for terrorist and explosives making training also.

Pandya was not a State Cabinet Minister when he was gunned down by the assailants on May 26, 2003.

Among the absconding accused include an Ahmedabad-based cleric Mufti Sufiyan who allegedly conspired the attack on Pandya and other local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders with the aid of Rasool Khan Parti, a most wanted criminal and co-accused in the case.