For Ghulam Mohammad Wani acquittal of his son Gulzar Ahmad Wani in a terror case after spending 16 years in jail is a ‘victory of truth’.
“Today’s verdict means justice is still alive in India,” 62-year-old Ghulam said, after a sessions court in Uttar Pradesh absolved Gulzar of all charges in the Sabarmati Express blast case .
“Truth has finally triumphed,” he added.
Over a dozen people were injured after a bomb exploded on the Sabarmati Express in Barabanki district, 25 km from Lucknow, on August 14, 2000.
Ghulam had come to Barabanki in UP from his village in North Kashmir’s Baramulla district to attend the court proceedings that declared his son a free man.
Gulzar, who was pursuing his PHD in Aligarh Muslim University (AMU)’s Arabic department, was arrested on July 31, 2001. He was 28 years old then.
Since then it has been a long and painful journey for the family. “The journey was long and costly,” said Ghulam, who retired from a junior level position in J&K power department four years ago.
“His mother couldn’t come today because of her illness. Thank God, she is alive to see this day,” added Ghulam, father of seven children.
The long incarceration meant that Gulzar, the eldest child, did not see marriage of his three sisters and a brother. Two other brothers are studying in Jaipur, Rajasthan.
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