Wahab denies forgery

Abdul Wahab

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: Abdul Wahab (24) denied on Thursday that he had used forged documents to procure 14 SIM cards. “I purchased 14 cards but all were obtained with my voter ID card. If the forgery charge is true, show me proof,” said Wahab after his release from the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) lock-up in Mumbai.

Wahab, a second year mechanical engineering diploma student in Mohali, hails from Bihar. “The ATS has not told me or my family how I am involved in a cheating case. I procured the cards when mobile companies would offer various schemes. The ATS has seized all the cards,” he said.

Wahab along with room-mate, Qamar-e-Aalam, also from Bihar, was detained in Mohali and flown to Mumbai. The ATS has booked six persons in the case, including Mohammed Naqi, mobile phone dealer Mumtaz Shaikh, Aadil and Naseem Shahejahan Khan. While three have been granted bail, three are still in police custody. The police refused to reveal how the case was registered as cheating when the buyer took all the cards on his voter’s ID; the role of the other accused has also not been mentioned.

The youngest among nine siblings, Wahab is currently in Mumbai at his brother’s cap-making unit at Bhendi Bazaar. “Though I was not tortured, the ATS move has prevented me from appearing for three engineering papers. Can they give back my time now,” he asked. His college has now refused to admit him, but the ATS has promised him help.

“The police kept inquiring about several numbers, which were not stored in my phone, and insisted I should cooperate. If they want cooperation, they should have allowed me to see my phone to recall whose numbers those were,” said Wahab.

The Times of India, January 20, 2012