KOCHI: The NIA special court in Ernakulam on Thursday found suspected LeT militant Thadiyantavide Nazeer and his accomplice Shafaz guilty in the Kozhikode twin blast case.Delivering the first verdict in the NIA-investigated terror case in Kerala, special court judge S Vijayakumar observed that the twin blasts that took place on March 3, 2006 were part of terrorist activity.The court acquitted third and ninth accused Abdul Halim and Yousuf Chettipady. The sentence on Nazeer and Shafaz will be pronounced on Friday. The duo were found guilty of criminal conspiracy, creating disaffection towards government and religious enmity and charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Halim was acquitted for want of evidence while Yousuf got the benefit of doubts. The approver in the case Shammi Firoz was exempted from trial."Planting of bombs and explosion constitute terrorist act. After the blast, people in the bus stand were evacuated and buses removed. It was terror as intended by Thadiyantevida Nazeer. The accused also has a motive of promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of caste or community, disharmony or feeling of enmity. The entire act has been a result of a criminal conspiracy,’’ the court said and added that the deposition by crucial witness Shammi Firoz and the independent evidence collected by the prosecution have afforded sufficient charges against them.In the chargesheet, the NIA had submitted that the investigation revealed that Nazeer and the other accused conspired, planned and executed the bomb blasts in Kozhikode KSRTC and mofussil bus stands on March 3, 2006. This was done as a retaliation against the perceived partisan attitude of the Executive and Judiciary rejecting bail to the Muslim accused in the second Marad communal carnage.
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