By TwoCircles.net Staff Correspondent,
Mumbai: With Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) securing remand of Abdul Samad Bhatkal in an arms case, not in the Pune blast case as the interrogators could not get much in 24 hours of questioning, it seems Home Minister P Chidambaram has acted in a haste in congratulating the ATS for arresting ‘Pune prime suspect.’
The remand application of Maharashtra ATS before Mazgaon Metropolitan Magistrate here on May 25 sought remand of Samad in connection with the arms seizure of August 2009 in which three persons were arrested from south Mumbai for possession of illegal firearms. Samad has been remanded in police custody till June 1.
Pune bomb blast suspect Abdul Samad Bhatkal being taken to a court in Mumbai on Tuesday. Samad was arrested on Monday at Mangalore airport. [Photo: PTI]
Soon after he was picked, Maharashtra ATS declared it arrested the prime suspect of Pune blast of February 2010 that claimed 17 lives. Union Home Minister P Chidambaram spent no time and issued a statement in New Delhi complimenting the Maharashtra ATS for identifying Samad as prime accused in the Pune blasts. His arrest was considered a major breakthrough and lauding the police action Chidambaram said: “I compliment ATS Maharashtra, the Pune Police and central agencies on apprehending the prime suspect within hundred days of the incident.”
Samad was interrogated by the Maha ATS team for next 24 hours after he was nabbed but he did not spill the beans, and ultimately next day, his police remand was sought in an arms case, not the Pune blasts case.
According to Headlines Today TV news channel, the ATS has been unable to build a watertight case against Samad in Pune case. “He had allegedly sent two e-mails from his Yahoo id that were to be used to nail him, but the interrogators could not get any copy. It was the only way the ATS could have proved that Samad was present in Pune on the day of the blast.”
Moreover, the channel said, the mobile phones suspected to have been used by Samad have also failed to prove his involvement. “The nervousness of the ATS was clearly evident in the manner Samad was produced before a magistrate on charges unrelated to Pune bombing. The ATS instead said it wanted to question him in connection with the recovery of small arms from Mumbai's Byculla area last year.”
Meanwhile, Samad’s family has cried foul over his arrest. They insist Samad is innocent. “He has nothing to do with either the Pune blast or the Mumbai arms case he has been charged in,” his mother, Bibi Rehana, in Mumbai with Samad’s uncle Mohammad Ali Siddibapa and aunt C Halima, has been quoted as saying. Bibi Rehana says his son is being framed by the police. “My son has been wrongly framed. We are helpless as we can't do anything,” she said.
Samad’s family has claimed he was in the village on the day of Pune bombing attending a marriage. Samad's uncle Mohammad Ibrahim has been quoted as saying: “He was attending my son's marriage at the time of blast at German Bakery.”
Meanwhile, Mumbai lawyer Mobin Solkar has decided to represent Samad. The family has reportedly also contacted Jamiat Ulema Maharashtra seeking their help. The state unit of Jamiat has been providing legal services to scores of community youths picked up in terror cases.
It is interesting to note here that in 2008, Samad was picked up by the Mangalore police for his alleged role in July 2008 blasts in Bangalore. However, he was let off due to lack of evidence after which he went to Dubai.
It is early to conclude the fate of the case. However, it seems the Home Minister Chidambaram has shown extra hurriedness in patting Police for nabbing ‘Pune prime suspect Samad’ when he is seeing how the police stories and investigations in terror cases are falling flat one after another. Chidambaram is under intense pressure nowadays for failure of his police in taking on Naxals, thus he must be feeling relieved after getting ‘a big success’ in another case. His predecessor Shiv Raj Patil was in the same situation after Delhi serial blasts of September 2008 and then the Batla House encounter was done.
Source : http://twocircles.net/2010may27/chidambaram_acted_haste_congratulating_maha_ats.html
Mumbai: With Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) securing remand of Abdul Samad Bhatkal in an arms case, not in the Pune blast case as the interrogators could not get much in 24 hours of questioning, it seems Home Minister P Chidambaram has acted in a haste in congratulating the ATS for arresting ‘Pune prime suspect.’
The remand application of Maharashtra ATS before Mazgaon Metropolitan Magistrate here on May 25 sought remand of Samad in connection with the arms seizure of August 2009 in which three persons were arrested from south Mumbai for possession of illegal firearms. Samad has been remanded in police custody till June 1.
Pune bomb blast suspect Abdul Samad Bhatkal being taken to a court in Mumbai on Tuesday. Samad was arrested on Monday at Mangalore airport. [Photo: PTI]
Soon after he was picked, Maharashtra ATS declared it arrested the prime suspect of Pune blast of February 2010 that claimed 17 lives. Union Home Minister P Chidambaram spent no time and issued a statement in New Delhi complimenting the Maharashtra ATS for identifying Samad as prime accused in the Pune blasts. His arrest was considered a major breakthrough and lauding the police action Chidambaram said: “I compliment ATS Maharashtra, the Pune Police and central agencies on apprehending the prime suspect within hundred days of the incident.”
Samad was interrogated by the Maha ATS team for next 24 hours after he was nabbed but he did not spill the beans, and ultimately next day, his police remand was sought in an arms case, not the Pune blasts case.
According to Headlines Today TV news channel, the ATS has been unable to build a watertight case against Samad in Pune case. “He had allegedly sent two e-mails from his Yahoo id that were to be used to nail him, but the interrogators could not get any copy. It was the only way the ATS could have proved that Samad was present in Pune on the day of the blast.”
Moreover, the channel said, the mobile phones suspected to have been used by Samad have also failed to prove his involvement. “The nervousness of the ATS was clearly evident in the manner Samad was produced before a magistrate on charges unrelated to Pune bombing. The ATS instead said it wanted to question him in connection with the recovery of small arms from Mumbai's Byculla area last year.”
Meanwhile, Samad’s family has cried foul over his arrest. They insist Samad is innocent. “He has nothing to do with either the Pune blast or the Mumbai arms case he has been charged in,” his mother, Bibi Rehana, in Mumbai with Samad’s uncle Mohammad Ali Siddibapa and aunt C Halima, has been quoted as saying. Bibi Rehana says his son is being framed by the police. “My son has been wrongly framed. We are helpless as we can't do anything,” she said.
Samad’s family has claimed he was in the village on the day of Pune bombing attending a marriage. Samad's uncle Mohammad Ibrahim has been quoted as saying: “He was attending my son's marriage at the time of blast at German Bakery.”
Meanwhile, Mumbai lawyer Mobin Solkar has decided to represent Samad. The family has reportedly also contacted Jamiat Ulema Maharashtra seeking their help. The state unit of Jamiat has been providing legal services to scores of community youths picked up in terror cases.
It is interesting to note here that in 2008, Samad was picked up by the Mangalore police for his alleged role in July 2008 blasts in Bangalore. However, he was let off due to lack of evidence after which he went to Dubai.
It is early to conclude the fate of the case. However, it seems the Home Minister Chidambaram has shown extra hurriedness in patting Police for nabbing ‘Pune prime suspect Samad’ when he is seeing how the police stories and investigations in terror cases are falling flat one after another. Chidambaram is under intense pressure nowadays for failure of his police in taking on Naxals, thus he must be feeling relieved after getting ‘a big success’ in another case. His predecessor Shiv Raj Patil was in the same situation after Delhi serial blasts of September 2008 and then the Batla House encounter was done.
Source : http://twocircles.net/2010may27/chidambaram_acted_haste_congratulating_maha_ats.html
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