Delhi blasts accused was minor, mother tells court

NEW DELHI - The mother of Salman Ahmad, a suspected Indian Mujahideen terrorist and Delhi serial blast accused, told a city court Thursday that his date of birth recorded in a Mumbai school was the correct one.

She informed the court that Salman’s actual date of birth is Feb 9, 1992, and that at the time of the Delhi serial blasts in September 2008, he was 16 and a half years old - legally an underage. The court had earlier been given two different dates of birth for Ahmad by the authorities of two schools he attended.

Ahmad’s mother appeared in court in connection with his claim that he was a minor at the time of the Sep 13, 2008, serial blasts that killed 26 people and left 135 others injured in New Delhi.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kaveri Baweja said the examining of witnesses is over. The prosecution and defence will present their arguments on the basis of witness statements May 1.

The court earlier examined principals of Ahmad’s two schools - Mahadev Inter College, Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, and Brihan Mumbai Mahanagar Palika School in Mumbai.

The documents of Azamgarh school principal showed Ahmad’s date of birth as Oct 3, 1992. The principal of his Mumbai school produced records that showed Feb 9, 1992, as his date of birth.

Four doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) were also examined to verify his age.

On March 15, the court directed the AIIMS to determine Ahmad’s age. A medical board of the AIIMS submitted a report March 23 in court and said Ahmad’s age was 25-26 years.