The Gujarat government has decided to slap the Prevention of Terrorism Act against all the accused involved in the Sabarmati Express carnage, state Home Minister Amit Shah said on Wednesday.
"The decision was taken on Tuesday after one of the accused, Zabir Bin Yamiun Behra, confessed in the court that the conspiracy was hatched three-four days before the carnage and that Maulvi Husain Umarji was the main conspirator," Shah said.
Maulvi Umar, who is also a leader of the Tabliq-e-Jamaat, also revealed during interrogation many "serious points", which compelled the government to take the decision, he said.
On being asked whether all the culprits have been arrested, he said, "We cannot say that but the conspiracy has been unravelled and the main accused have been arrested."
Besides Maulvi and Behra, who are among the 121 accused, the police have arrested Idrish Ravan, a member of the "core team" that allegedly set fire to the S-6 coach of the train on February 27 last year, killing 59 karsevaks returning from Ayodhya.
Meanwhile the Special Investigation Team officials, in the application moved to additional sessions judge of Godhra K C Kela, stated that the conspiracy to torch the train was hatched in Aman Guest House, owned by another prime accused Razzak Kurkur, in the town.
The application, according to sources, also mentions that accused, Salim Panwala, who is still absconding, was supposed to keep a check on timings of Sabarmati Express arriving at Godhra station, while it was decided that petrol would be transported through loading rickshaws.
The petrol was brought by accused Shaukat Lalu, Hussain Lalu and Zabir Bin Yameen and Imran, stated the application, according to reports from Godhra.
The SIT also stated that as per the conspiracy vendors at the station would enter into a verbal altercation with the karsevaks arriving from Ayodhya.
The application further said that Maulvi Hussain Umarji had confessed during interrogation that a large amount of 'black money' had been transacted from Islamic countries in the town through hawala channels.
"Had it been for a good cause, the money would have come the conventional way and not through hawala", the application to the court further said, according to sources.
The SIT is also trying to track down the sources of funding to Maulvi Umarji. Police sources in Vadodara said tracking it down could help in ascertaining the identity of the persons who had
provided the funds to him.
Zabir Yamin Behra, an accused in the case, had confessed before a magistrate that Maulvi Umarji had agreed to give Rs 1500 each per month to the members of the core team for torching the coach.
The SIT is trying to lay its hands on documents pertaining to the payment. For this purpose, it had raided the premises of the Maulvi in Godhra on Tuesday and also searched the relief office run by him, sources said.
