Wahid Deen Mohammad Shaikh. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
After a red decision in Bombay High Court, which overturned the convictions of all 12 men in the case of a 2006 train explosion, Wahid Deen Mohammad Shaikh, the only person exempt in 2015, was now looking for 9 years of 9 years of unlawful imprisonment.
In a statement issued on Friday (September 12, 2025), Mr. Shaikh said he turned to the National Human Rights Commission, Delhi and Maharashtra; National Commission for Minorities, Indian Government; The Ministry for the Development of Minority (Minority Commission), the Government of Maharashtra, demanding recognition of what it called an “irreparable loss” for his freedom, dignity and trajectory of life.
Shaikh, who was arrested at the age of 28 according to the Mahashtra Act over the Organized Crime Act (MCOCA), spent nine years in Arthur Road Jail before he was abolished by Mcoca Special Court on September 11, 2015.
“The years I lost, the humiliation I faced, and the pain my family could last could never be canceled. I was brutally tortured in custody, leaving me with glaucoma and chronic body pain,” he said. Before 2006 he was a school teacher.
“From 2006 to 2015, when I was submitted in Arthur Road Jail, I watched my postgraduate study in English literature and LLB,” he told the Hindu. While in prison, he authorized StartNauh Qaidi (innocent prisoner), he documents his experience with a false consequence and torture. The book inspired the Hinde Himolymph Film 2022: Invisible Blood. He also completed his doctoral studies in prison literature.
After being released from prison, he founded the All-India team called Innocence Network, who works for the rights of those who have been incorrectly prosecuted or convicted. He also founded the YouTube channel called StartNah Qaidi.
“My father died when I was in prison, my mother’s mental health collapsed, and my wife raised our children under the stigma that she was marked with a terrorist family. She had to ask for a job because no one would take care of children.
Mr. Shaikh pointed to precedents in cases of unlawful arrest, including cases of ISRO scientist Zambi Nambi Nazaanan, who was awarded £ 50 in 2018.
“For 10 years after my liberation, I abstained from seeking compensation from moral interest in my co-bladder, which remained in prison. Now that they were also liberated, it is clear that the whole case was invented. My request is not charity but recognition of serious injustice caused to me and my family.”
Published – 13 September 2025 08:05 IS
