Wahid Shaikh, who was acquitted in 2015 by a trial court in the 2006 Mumbai local train blasts case, has demanded Rs 9 crore as compensation for the nine years he spent wrongfully imprisoned and alleged custodial torture.

In an open letter, Shaikh said on Friday that he was demanding compensation as recognition of the “grave injustice” inflicted on him and his family, and as a step towards accountability.

“I walked out of prison, but the years I lost, the humiliation I faced, and the pain my family endured can never be undone,” he said.

Shaikh alleged that he faced custodial torture, which left him with “lasting health issues”, including glaucoma and chronic pain.

“My father died while I was in prison, my mother’s mental health collapsed, and my wife was forced to struggle alone to raise our children,” he added.

He said his “career and education were ruined” and that he is in debt of nearly Rs 30 lakh.

Shaikh said that the government did not challenge his acquittal because it “did not have any evidence” against him.

He added that he had not demanded compensation so far out of concern for others accused in the case, many of whom were convicted and sentenced to death or life imprisonment, but later acquitted.

“I feared that the state could have been more brutal towards them and taken revenge for my compensation claim,” Shaikh said.

“Now that these acquittals have taken place, it is clear that the entire case was a forgery, and therefore, my demand for compensation becomes even more legitimate and urgent,” he contended. “At this juncture, I believe it is fully justified to seek justice for myself.”

Shaikh was among the 13 men arrested by the Maharashtra Police in 2006 for allegedly carrying out serial blasts that took place on July 11 that year, in which seven bombs exploded in suburban trains on Mumbai’s Western Railway line, killing 189 persons and injuring 824.

He was accused of using his house to harbour Pakistani terrorists, who then went on to plant bombs in the local trains along with 13 Indian conspirators.

Nine years later, in September 2015, 12 of the 13 men were convicted by a special court in Mumbai. Shaikh alone was acquitted after the court found no merit in the accusations against him.

On July 21 this year, the Bombay High Court acquitted the 12 men in the case, holding that the prosecution had “utterly failed” in establishing their guilt.

However, three days later, the Supreme Court stayed the Bombay High Court’s order after the Maharashtra government challenged the acquittal of the 12 men, but allowed them to remain out of jail while the case is heard.

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