'Begunah Qaidi' talks about anti-terror agencies' vile tactics and its victims

New Delhi: 11th July is remembered in India as 7/11 because of Mumbai Train blasts in 2006. New Delhi-based publisher Pharos Media has just brought out "Innocent Prisoners", the English version of Begunah Qaidi authored by Abdul Wahid Shaikh, himself a victim of a fake terror plot. The book, written while the author was incarcerated in Mumbai's Arthur Road jail, was originally published in Urdu and later translated into Hindi.

The book, which is a massive work in 504 pages on tactics agencies and police use to ensnare innocents in fake terror cases to justify government policies and influence citizens of the country to accept the emergence of a security state in India is now available in English also.

The author who himself was a victim of this ensnaring tactic, was acquitted by the Special MOCOA & NIA Court Mumbai while his co-accused rot in jail, and their appeal is pending for the last six years in Bombay High Court.

Shaikh offers first-hand information about agencies and police tactics on implicating innocent people, fabricating false evidence against them and use of torture of victims and the immoral pressure on their relatives to force them to confess to crimes they never committed or implicate other innocents.

The book is basically about the 7/11 Mumbai train blasts case. It also covers German Bakery blasts 2010, Malegaon Blasts 2006, Aurangabad Arms Haul case 2006, Akshardham attack 2002 and the "Indian Mujahideen" plank used by agencies to fabricate cases. It further covers extensively police torture, fabrication tactics, and various strategies police and agencies employ to implicate innocents and force them to make false confessions to prove stories concocted by the agencies and police.

This exposé offers startling details of the heinous games played in India by the State through police and agencies for decades in the name of "terrorism". The book unveils the ugly face of government and agencies, modus operandi of police, ATS and investigation agencies, their inhumane tortures, legal tactics employed and the secrets of court cases. Innocents implicated in terror cases will find the courage to fight their legal battles through this book. The reality of the blast cases and the tall claims made by police and media are exposed in great detail in this book.

The author himself was a victim of torture and tactics of police and investigation agencies. He has narrated first-hand experiences of himself and some other innocent prisoners at police, investigation agencies and officials of the jail system.

The book is not just a testimony of the innocence of a person acquitted of all charges in an infamous "terror" case but also showcases his unmoved resolve to fight the legal battle for his and other victims' freedom. It is also a manual on how not to get yourself entangled in the vicious web of false implication in the first place and how to secure freedom from the clutches of heartless people in uniform if arrested.

The author, Abdul Wahid Shaikh, is a teacher at a Mumbai school. He was the only person to be acquitted out of the 13 accused in the 11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings case because till the end, he refused to sign a false confessional statement while his other co-accused succumbed to pressures and signed their false confessions, which were used in court to sentence them to death and life imprisonment.

Shaikh completed his post-graduation and studied law during his nine years in jail. Even years after his acquittal, cops continue to harass him. Keeping his promise to his co-accused, he frequently travels around the country talking about the truth. A Hindi feature film based on his life will soon be released.

Priced at Rs 495, this book and its Urdu and Hindi versions are available from Amazon or pharosmedia.com/books.