Mumbai, Feb 27 (UNI) Lone acquitted accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case, Fahim Arshad Mohammad Yusuf Ansari, moved the Bombay High Court seeking police clearance certificate (PCC) to enable him to work as an autorickshaw driver to earn a livelihood.
Ansari, who was acquitted by a special court in 2010, told the high court that police denied his application for PCC, stating that he allegedly had links to terrorist group Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT). He claimed it “arbitrary, discriminatory” and an action with “prejudice”.
The petition is now scheduled to be heard by a division bench led by Justice Sarang Kotwal on March 18.
Ansari was arrested in December 2008 in connection with the 26/11 Mumbai attacks while he was already in custody for a separate case in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. In that case, he was charged with offences related to waging war against the country, convicted, and sentenced to 10 years in prison. After serving his sentence, he was released in 2019.
In the 26/11 case, a special court acquitted Ansari in May 2010, finding no merit in the allegations that he had aided the attackers by preparing maps of Mumbai.
The High Court upheld his acquittal in 2011, and the Supreme Court dismissed the State’s appeal in 2012, affirming his innocence.
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