Counsel for Abdul Samad Mohammed Zarrar Sidibapa, Mubin Solkar, said the aim of their press conference here on Tuesday was to clear the misconceptions in the press as well as among the public about Samad.
The Union Home Ministry had mentioned Samad as a suspect in the German Bakery blast case on its website.
“No charge sheet”
Mr. Solkar said Samad's name was often misspelt or misquoted. “There is no ‘Bhatkal' in his name. To set the record straight, his name is Abdul Samad Mohammed Zarrar Sidibapa. He has never been on the radar of any investigative agency previously. Even in the arms case, the police have not yet filed a charge sheet against him,” Mr. Solkar said.
As for Yasin Bhatkal, who was alleged to be Samad's brother, Mr. Solkar said: “Samad does not have any brother named Yasin Bhatkal. His elder brother's name is Mohammed Ahmed, who has severed all ties with the family since 2006.” After Ahmed had a tiff with his father in Dubai over some personal issues, he broke contact with the family. “We [Samad's family] don't know his whereabouts since then.”
He confirmed that investigative agencies interrogated the family a few times about Ahmed's whereabouts, but the family always maintained that it was not in touch with him anymore.
Asked whether the family was planning to file any case against either the Centre or the State for defaming Samad by naming him as a suspect in the German Bakery blast case, Mr. Solkar said it had not yet decided the course of action.
Mr. Solkar said Samad, a Microsoft-certified systems engineer, went to Dubai in February 2010 in search of a job. “Because he was on a visit visa, he came back after three months.” His father is employed in Dubai.
Samad was not involved in the arms seizure case in which he was arrested, he said. “He doesn't know any of the three arrested accused.”
Asked whether they would file an appeal in the higher court for discharge, Mr. Solkar said the ATS did not even file a charge sheet against Samad. “There is no question of discharge, when there is no charge sheet.”
The media had played a tape showing Samad at a wedding on February 6, 2010. But they did not need to prove Samad's whereabouts during the blast as he was not implicated in the case.
