Mumbai: A day after the Bombay High Court verdict, he was acquitted of conspiracy allegations in 11/7 train blasts, Mohammad Ali Sheikh was filled with Govandi residence relatives and neighbors who greeted him with sweets, while the phone discussed with a call.Sheikh (56) said, “Reunion’s happiness with my family cannot be described. 19 years later, I sat with my wife, children, brothers and sisters and dined,”He said, “The High Court has freed us. Truth has won. We will fight our case in the Supreme Court if needed, and are certain to win,” he said.During the online court hearing, Sheikh received the word about his acquittal. “Ehteshham Siddiqui and I was released from Nagpur jail on Monday evening and flew to Mumbai at 3.30 pm on Tuesday.”He said, “We were falsely implicated, tortured and humiliated. Even my 11 -year -old son was slapped by an ATS officer,” he said. “ATS officers will visit my house and harass my family. They threatened me at gunpoint and asked me to approve, even I offered me Rs 10 lakh, job in Dubai and monthly expenses of Rs 10,000, if I comply with. But I did not accept that we were innocent.”The anti-terrorism squad (ATS) claimed that a Pakistani had visited Sheikh’s house and built bombs on trains on 11 July 2006. “Everything was a lie. They tarnished our image, imprisoned the person and ruined our families,” a relative said.When recorded in Thane Jail, Sheikh applied for parole after the death of his brother Munawar, but was rejected. His father later died. “This time, he approved parole, but the fee for police escort from Thane Jail to Govandi was Rs 1.7 lakh. How could I tolerate it?” He said.In jail, Sheikh passed two courses in tourism, completed graduates in art, and appeared for the first year examination for MA (History). He is planning to complete his post-graduation.Meanwhile, Zameer Sheikh (50), a prominer of Worli, who was released from Amravati Jail on Monday evening after his acquittal, told TOI on the phone: “I am grateful to Allah. I am traveling right now.” He said that his son, who was in class 1 when he was arrested in 2006, has become a mechanical engineer and his daughter is also studying. He said that he remembers his parents, who died when he was in jail. Zamir was sentenced to life imprisonment by a trial court for receiving arms training in Pakistan and alleged relations with the Matunga train explosion.
