By IANS
New Delhi/Bangalore : Imran Ahmed, a relative of Muhammed Haneef, a suspect in the failed Britain bombings, may leave for Australia Saturday after getting a visa Friday while India has again sought consular access to the doctor held in an Australian correction centre.
Haneef's wife Firdous Arshiya said in Bangalore that Imran Ahmed would leave "most probably tomorrow" after an official in the Australian High Commission in New Delhi said "his visa has been cleared".
"I am happy he got the visa so soon and I thank the Indian government for its help in making this possible," Firdous told IANS.
"I hope the Indian government will continue to extend such help till my husband is freed and cleared of all charges."
Firdous, who gave birth to the couple's first child, a girl, here on June 26, said she was in regular touch with Haneef's lawyers and they have informed that he was all right.
"He was extremely happy at the support he has been receiving from the people of Australia," she said.
Haneef was not aware of the demonstrations in support of him. "He was surprised at the extent of the support," she said, quoting his lawyers.
Minister of State of External Affairs E. Ahamed met the 27-year-old doctor's wife in Bangalore Thursday evening.
Ahamed spoke to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday morning and conveyed Arshiya's "grief and concern" and her "gratitude" for the efforts taken by the Indian government to get Haneef released.
"The Indian High Commission in Canberra has sought consular access for the second time to Haneef," Ahamed said.
Speaking in Bangalore, Afshaq Ahmed, Haneef's father-in-law, was also hopeful that Haneef would be freed soon in view of Australian media reports about loopholes in the case against him.
"The facts are coming out now," said Afshaq, a businessman. He added that the mood at home was slightly better after reports of inconsistencies in the police affidavit against Haneef surfaced in Australia.
The minister said that the Indian government had sought all information about the case and pointed out to Australian authorities that Haneef deserved fair treatment and a trial under Australian law.
"The Indian high commissioner there has met the police chief also. The high commission is in touch with the family too," Ahamed explained.
Haneef, who has been kept in solitary confinement, has been charged by Australian police with being "reckless" in giving his SIM card to his cousin Sabeel Ahmed, also a doctor from Bangalore, when Haneef left Britain to take up his new job in Gold Coast Hospital in Australia.
Sabeel has been charged by police in Britain with having information on the terror plot but not passing it on to the authorities.
Sabeel's elder brother Kafeel Ahmed, an engineer, is believed to be the man who rammed a blazing jeep into Glasgow airport terminal on June 30, a day after two explosive-filled Mercedez Benz cars were found in London.
Kafeel is battling for life in a British hospital with 90 percent buns he sustained as he reportedly set himself on fire after the failed terror attempt.
Although Haneef was given bail, the Australian government cancelled his 457 work visa and held him in immigration detention.
The minister told Arshiya that the Indian government had been "emboldened" by the observation made by the magistrate, who granted him bail, that Haneef's record was "impeccable" as per the information from the Queensland hospital where he worked.
"I assured her that the Indian government would do everything possible within the law for him. It is our duty to protect an Indian national wherever he is," Ahamed said.
"She said Haneef and the family were against violence and terrorism and that he was innocent," said the minister.