By NNN-PTI
Melbourne : The Australian Federal Police today vowed to track down “every lead and piece of evidence” against Indian doctor Mohamed Haneef and said the terror probe could take years to complete.
“The investigation into Dr Haneef has only just begun,” ‘The Australian’ reported, quoting Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty as saying.
“We’ve had four weeks, so far, of an investigation spanning three continents, with enough information to fill 36,000 four-drawer filing cabinets for us to examine. We will take all the time we need to thoroughly investigate every lead and piece of information,” Keelty said.
The police chief also revealed that the British police were still actively involved in the joint investigation with Australian authorities on the Haneef case.
Dr Haneef returned to India recently after prosecutors dropped a charge against him that he had recklessly provided support to a terrorist organisation by giving his mobile phone SIM card to a relative linked to the foiled UK terror plot.
Defending the AFP against mounting criticism of its bungled handling of the case, Keelty said that most of the allegations against the police have been “unfounded and unfair”.
“Mistakes happen… Police are human. (But) the AFP in this matter have acted appropriately…,” he was quoted.
In fact, Keelty claimed, the police detained Dr Haneef as he suddenly attempted to leave the country on the first day of the probe.
“We took the decision to detain him for questioning. If he had not attempted to leave, we might have had the luxury of more time to conduct the investigation.”
Meanwhile, a rally held here this morning in support of Dr Haneef called for immediate repeal of the terrorism laws in the country.