The Hindu : National : Shahbaz Husain remanded to police custody in Jaipur

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Shahbaz Husain remanded to police custody in Jaipur

Special Correspondent

JAIPUR: The Rajasthan police brought Shahbaz Husain, arrested in Lucknow in connection with the May 13 Jaipur serial blasts, here on Tuesday and produced him before the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court, which remanded him to police custody till September 5. They also arrested seven persons from Kota in the case.

Director-General of Police K.S. Bains announced at a press conference here that the State police, assisted by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad, nabbed 32-year-old Shahbaz at his computer centre in the posh Aminabad locality of Lucknow on Monday after getting a tip-off about him during the interrogation of Abu Bashir and Sajid Mansuri, captured by the Gujarat police recently.

The police simultaneously arrested seven persons from Kota, already in the Special Investigation Team’s detention, on charges of providing shelter to Sajid Mansuri, stated to be one of the masterminds behind the conspiracy for the blasts that claimed 68 lives in the Walled City here.

Mr. Bains said the case against Shahbaz and others was based on the alleged admissions of the prime suspects before the Gujarat police and added that the Rajasthan police were yet to build prima facie evidence against the accused. “Investigation is still in progress and the suspects’ role in the crime will be uncovered shortly.”

Those arrested from Kota are Imran, Mehdi Hasan, Nazakat, Amanullah, Yunus, Taufeeq Qureshi and Ishaq Qureshi.

All of them have been booked under Sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code as well as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and remanded to police custody till September 7.

The Rajasthan Muslim Forum has castigated the State police for “framing innocent people,” saying the arrests were made to give a legal cover to the “unlawful detentions” of scores of people. Muslim groups said none of the accused held by the police had any role in the blasts.

Muslim Forum convenor Qari Moinuddin accused the police of violating the law in their probe by detaining the suspects for several days and leaking false reports about them to the media. “Police indulged in character assassination of the detained Muslim youths and ruined the career of several of them. The illegal detentions also built up an atmosphere hostile to the Muslim community.”

Mr. Bains, denying the charge, said several of the accused had links with the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) – Shahbaz being its main functionary after the incarceration of Safdar Nagori – and they attended a training camp at a religious place near Kota in December last year to prepare for the Jaipur bombings.

Pointing out that the “foot soldiers of SIMI” who had planted the bombs were yet to be traced, the DGP said the banned outfit had sketched the conspiracy through a very complex module that stretched to several States and involved people at several levels.

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