3 days after bail, Bhatkal brother still in jail

Abdul Samad in a wedding in Bhatkal

Mateen Hafeez I TNN

Mumbai: Three days after a sessions court granted bail to Abdul Samad Zarar in a 2009 arms seizure case, the 23-year-old is still languishing in Arthur Road jail. That is because the process of police verification for his bail surety is still on.

Samad—the younger brother of suspected Indian Mujahideen member Ahmed Zarar who is also known as Yasin Bhatkal— was granted bail on Tuesday on a surety of Rs 25,000. The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which had initially made tall claims about Samad’s involvement in the February 13 blast at Pune’s German Bakery, caught flak after the Karnataka native was granted bail. The ATS never named Samad as an accused in the Pune blast case.

Director-general of police D Sivanandhan said that the ATS should have taken its probe into the Pune blast case in the right direction.

“According to rules, a police verification is mandatory in cases where an accused is granted bail on a surety of more than Rs 15,000,” said a source close to Samad’s family. “The documents have been submitted and the police verification is on,’’ he added.

As Samad’s family hails from Bhatkal village in Karnataka, they had trouble finding relatives in Mumbai who could stand surety for him. “We have got a surety and are hoping that the police verification will be completed soon,’’ said another source close to the family.

Once the police clears the surety, it will be submitted in the court, following which Samad will be allowed to walk out of the Arthur Road jail.

Samad was arrested on May 24 after he landed at Karnataka’s Bajpe airport upon his return from Dubai.

The Times of India, June 19, 2010