After being acquitted in 2006 blasts case, Abdul Shaikh writes book on 'wrongful' arrests, torture

The lone acquittal in the 2006 Mumbai serial bomb blasts case may well prove costly for the police. The man, Abdul Wahid Shaikh has written a book on alleged wrongful arrests, fabricated evidence and custodial torture by the police, according to a report in the The Times of India.[caption id="attachment_2434196" align="alignleft" width="380"] The 2006 blasts in Mumbai. Image courtesy: Reuters[/caption]Shaikh began writing the book after the arguments in the case got over, as reported by TOI. The book will mention the statements of Indian Mujahideen operatives, who are reported to have said that they had carried out the blasts and not the persons who have been convicted.Soon after Shaikh’s acquittal, Mumbai Mirror had quoted him saying that the persons who have been convicted were “more innocent than I am.” He has also been quoted as saying that he was illegally detained more than five times before he was arrested.In a judgment last week, twelve persons were held guilty by a special court for their involvement in the 2006 serial blasts in Mumbai, in which more than 180 persons were killed. The twelve persons have been convicted under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA).Shaikh is not the first person to have written about his experiences with the criminal justice system after being acquitted. Last year, Arun Ferreira, who had been accused of Naxalite activities, wrote a memoir titled “Colours of the Cage”, in which he gave detailed accounts of torture in prison and police excesses. A report by the magazine Frontline on this book is available here.While Ferreira has written extensively about his own experiences, he has also detailed stories of other prisoners who were arrested and put in custody in the Nagpur Central Jail.