A special NIA court in Kerala has sentenced KA Anoop from Ernakulam to six years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1.60 lakh on him, pertaining to the 2005 case where a Tamil Nadu bus was set on fire in Kalamassery, Ernakulam, an official said on Tuesday, July 20. KA Anoop, who had fled the country after committing the crime in 2005, was arrested in April 2016, an official of the investigation agency said.
The incident took place on September 9, 2005, when a Tamil Nadu Transport Corporation bus was burnt in retaliation against the long detention of Abdul Nasser Madani, chairman of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), in connection with the Coimbatore blast case. The bus from Ernakulam to Salem with 31 passengers was diverted from its route and set ablaze at Popemala near HMT colony, Kalamassery, after forcing all the passengers to get down from the bus.
As per the plan, six persons, including Thadiyantavida Nazeer, who claims to be the commander of the Lashkar-e-Taiba in south India, (first accused in the case), Ummar Haji, Abdul Haleem, Ismail, Shafeeq, Sabir Buhari and Mohammad Navaz boarded the bus from the Ernakulam bus station. Thajuddin, Nazar and KA Anoop waited with three motorcycles at Kalamassery. The bus started from Ernakulam bus station at 8.30 pm.
When the bus reached near the Kalamassery Municipal Office, one of the group members threatened the bus driver at gunpoint and asked him to drive the vehicle towards an isolated area near HMT colony. As the bus reached the spot, the accused persons asked the passengers to get down from the bus. Using cotton waste soaked in petrol, the accused burnt the bus and escaped on their motorbikes. The NIA had registered the case on January 22, 2010.
After completion of the investigation, the NIA had filed a charge-sheet against 13 accused persons including Anoop under several sections of the Indian Penal Code, Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) on December 7, 2010.
Anoop, who was absconding abroad, was arrested on April 7, 2016. The official said that on July 15 this year, the NIA Special court convicted Anoop for his offences.