Exclusive: Ex-Mumbai Police chief AN Roy defends probe amid political row over 2006 train blast case acquittal

Mumbai:

As politics continues to heat up over the recent acquittal of all accused in the 2006 Mumbai local train blasts case, India TV held an exclusive telephonic interview with former Mumbai Police Commissioner AN Roy, who had led the investigation at the time of the incident. Speaking in detail, Roy expressed his views on the Bombay High Court's ruling and strongly advocated for the verdict to be challenged in the apex court.

Speaking to India TV, AN Roy said he had personally supervised the investigation back then. "I take full responsibility for the entire probe. We had conducted a thorough and professional investigation and arrested only 13 individuals -- those against whom we had solid evidence. We had filed the chargesheet solely against them."

Roy added, "The trial lasted seven years. During this time, the accused filed several petitions in both the High Court and the Supreme Court, claiming they were tortured and their statements were coerced. However, all these petitions were dismissed by the courts on merit. Allegations of torture were thoroughly examined and found to be false."

Trial continued for seven years

AN Roy further stated that the trial spanned seven years, and the trial court delivered a detailed judgment running over 1,900 pages. Both sides' arguments were meticulously documented, he said. Out of the 13 accused, one was acquitted, while five were sentenced to death and seven received life imprisonment. "This was no ordinary verdict - this was a landmark judgment. The trial court ruled in our favour, but ten years later, the High Court has overturned that decision. I firmly believe our investigation was strong and we have a solid case for appeal in the higher court."

'Claims of torture are baseless'

Roy pointed out that it is a pattern in the Indian legal system that almost every accused, after giving a confessional statement, retracts it once the trial begins, alleging that it was made under torture. "This is nothing new. Even during the trial, this issue was raised. On court orders, all accused were medically examined. The court held detailed hearings on the torture allegations and ultimately rejected them on merit. All witnesses were produced before the trial court," he added.

Every detail recorded in 1,900-page judgment

The former Mumbai Police Commissioner said statements of all witnesses were recorded during the trial. Both prosecution and defence lawyers cross-examined every witness. According to Roy, a battery of defence lawyers remained present in the courtroom and didn’t rest until they had questioned every witness thoroughly. "The 1,900-page judgment meticulously documents who said what and what emerged during the cross-examinations. The trial court found the witness statements credible during cross-examination," he added.

Final word awaited after full review

Roy also said hw will not comment further until he fully reads the High Court judgment. "I can confidently say that we carried out an intensive investigation, collected all necessary evidence, and followed every legal protocol in the process. The issues you are raising were also raised during the trial. The defence challenged them, and detailed arguments took place in court. Now, both the trial court’s and the High Court’s judgments must be examined in totality before drawing conclusions," he added. 

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