Aurangabad arms case: Chargesheet filed against Jundal

The Anti-Terrorism Squad of the Maharashtra police on Saturday filed a supplementary chargesheet against alleged Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative and 26/11 Mumbai attack handler Sayed Zabiuddin Ansari, alias Abu Jundal, in connection with the 2006 Aurangabad arms haul case.

"We have filed a 3,650-page chargesheet against Jundal, and named him as an key accused," said an ATS official.

On May 8, 2006, a Maharashtra ATS team had chased a Tata Sumo and an Indica car on Chandwad-Manmad highway near Aurangabad in the state and arrested three terror suspects. They had also seized 30 kg of RDX, 10 AK-47 assault rifles and 3,200 bullets.

The car was allegedly driven by Jundal who managed to give the police a slip. Hailing from Beed district of Maharashtra, Jundal drove to Malegaon and handed over the vehicle to an acquaintance. A few days later, he allegedly escaped to Bangladesh and then went to Pakistan on a fake passport, according to the police.

The special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act had on August 17 this year framed charges against the 21 arrested accused in the arms haul case. Barring Jundal, the other accused were arrested in 2006.

The trial had been stayed by the Supreme Court after one of the accused challenged the constitutional validity of certain provisions of the MCOCA. The stay was lifted in 2009.