Cuttack, July 7: The court of District & Sessions Judge here has fixed July 24 for framing charges for the trial of Abdul Rehman, a cleric with alleged al Qaeda links.
The 38-year-old Rehman was arrested from his village - Paschimagacha in Jagatpur police limits in the city - by a joint police team of Delhi and Odisha on December 16, 2015. His arrest followed Delhi's counter terrorism unit's success in nabbing Mohammad Asif, one of the key operatives of al Qaeda in Indian Sub-Continent (AQIS).
The Special Task Force (STF) of the crime branch had taken up the case after a case was registered against Rahman. Rehman has been charged with indulging in unlawful activities and undesirable terrorist activities, waging war against the state and spotting potential for jihadi activities on the guise of running a madarsa.
"District & sessions Judge S.N. Mishra fixed the date to frame the charges and set the date for the prosecution to open its case after Rehman, currently lodged in the Circle Jail at Choudwar, was produced before him on Wednesday," Rehman's counsel Satyaranjan Mulia said today.
During his production a petition was moved on his behalf for proper treatment as he was suffering from diabetes. The petition also sought direction for providing books and proper food.
"Taking note of the petition, the sessions court directed the Choudwar jail superintendent to provide Abdul Rehman with required treatment for diabetes along with books and food to him according to rules of the jail manual," Mulia said. The STF had submitted a 500-odd-page charge sheet before the court of judicial magistrate firs class, Salipur, on December 28 last year.
The magistrate court had committed the case to the district and sessions court, Cuttack, for trial. All criminal cases start in the magistrate's court. This court deals with less serious indictable offences. More serious offences must be sent to the district and sessions court by a process called a committal.
Crime branch sources said investigations had revealed that Rehman allegedly acted mostly as facilitator and his role was restricted towards recruitment of youths, mostly young children, through his Tangi-based madarsa. Rehman, popularly known as Kataki, was also allegedly involved in recruiting youth through his hate and provocative speeches in different parts of the country including Jharkhand. Rehman used to allegedly make provocative speeches and his voice in various CDs has been matched through voice spectrographic test at the state forensic laboratory in Bhubaneswar, the sources said.
