Samad’s court visit shrouded in mystery

Gets 14-Day Judicial Custody

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: Abdul Samad Zarar alias Samad Bhatkal, a suspect in the Pune German Bakery blast, was on Tuesday remanded in 14 days’ judicial custody by the Mazgaon metropolitan magistrate’s court in an arms haul case. Surprisingly, Samad’s face was covered with a black cloth inside the court room.

Samad (22), a resident of Bhatkal village in Karnataka, was arrested on May 24 for ‘allegedly’ supplying imported arms to some Chhota Shakeel gang members in August 2009. He was arrested at Bajpe airport in Mangalore soon after he landed from Dubai.

“The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has taken him into custody, suspecting him to be a prime accused in Pune’s February 13 bomb blast case, which killed 17 and injured over 60 others,’’ an official said.

Samad was brought to the court in a jeep at around 10.30 am. Wearing a t-shirt and trousers, Samad was barefoot. His face was covered with a burqa. The burqa was not removed from his face in the court room and his face was not shown even to the magistrate M V Morale. The judge asked him if he had any complaint against the police of illtreatment, Samad said, “No complaint.’’

Samad was surrounded by ATS officers Vijay Vakurdekar, Sachin Kadam, Suvarna Shinde, Kedar Pawar, Subash Dudhgaonkar and constables, all in plainclothes. He was not allowed to speak to his relatives who had arrived in court.

While probing the Pune blast case, the ATS zeroed in on the CCTV image of a person, suspected to be a bomb planter, who resembled Samad. A red-corner notice was issued against Samad and he was arrested at the airport when he landed there. ATS officials suspected that he had planted the bomb while his family had been denying all the charges, saying he was in Karnataka on the day of the blast.

The ATS did not seek his custody and told the court that Samad should be sent to judicial custody. Although ATS has not named Samad in the February 13 Pune blast case, Union home minister P C Chidambaram had soon after his arrest said that he was a prime suspect in the attack.

Soon after Samad was remanded in judicial custody, he sought bail on the grounds that no serious allegations were levelled against him and the three other accused, who were arrested in the arms case last year, are already out on bail. The court, however, rejected
the bail application, saying that investigations were still in progress and releasing the accused now, would not be safe.

Mubin Solkar, Samad’s defence lawyer, said, “I spoke to Samad for a few minutes and he told me that the ATS had questioned him about the Pune blast and his whereabouts on February 13. Samad is insisting that he was in Karnataka at that time. He is not involved in the Pune blast.’’ Solkar praised ATS chief Rakesh Maria saying, “Despite facing so much media pressure, they did not book him for the blast.’’ Samad will be in judicial custody till June 14.

The Times of India, June 2, 2010