By IANS,
Jamnagar (Gujarat) : Two software engineers who were arrested by the Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) Dec 6 near Jamnagar for using a GPS on their car for surveying the terrain, were Friday sent to judicial custody by a court here.
The two engineers of Biond Sotwares Pvt Ltd were held by the Ahmedabad ATS at Khambaliya highway near Jamnagar when they were in their car. Locals who said their movement was “suspicious” since they were using a GPS on their car for surveying the terrain had called the police.
The engineers, Mahesh Parab and Anil Jagtap, were in police remand for seven days from Dec 13.
“We have called for further details about the duo from Mumbai and Thane. Their cellphone calls are still being analysed and the inquiry is on,” said ATS superintendent G.L. Singhal.
Singhal told IANS Friday that ATS did not seek further police remand as the forensic report on the duo’s laptop and car had still not come. Inquiry is still on, he said.
Interestingly the Jamnagar police had concluded that the duo has been authorized to do the survey and no FIR was needed to be registered against them.
The duo told the police that they have been doing the survey from Dec 5, and it was to continue till Dec 15. They had already done a six-day survey in Kalavad taluka of Jamnagar district and were on their fourth day of survey in Jamnagar when they were detained. They said they were doing the survey for Nokia and had showed documentary evidence. However, the GPS installed on top of their car had created a furore and the ATS from Ahmedabad was called in.
Milind Dalvi, director of the Mumbai-based Biond Sotwares Pvt Ltd, told IANS, “It is much ado about nothing. We showed the clearance letter from the Ministry of Defence and the final approval that was given to us for doing a survey in the country on behalf of Nokia ‘Navigator. The two were fully authorised to do the survey all through India.”
Dalvi had come to Ahmedabad Dec 9 and met the ATS chief DIG Ajay Tomar and ATS superintendent Girish Singhal showing them all the correspondence between the company and MoD and the letter of approval given by Nokia.