By TCN News,
New Delhi: In a fresh development likely to end up in another intelligence embarrassment for our country, an Interpol warrant has been sought reportedly by CBI for the arrest of Fasih Mahmood, a Darbhanga engineer for his alleged involvement in the 2010 blast outside Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. However, according to Fasih’s family, Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia and both Indian and Saudi media, the 28-year-old engineer has already been arrested on 13th of May from his home in Al Jubail, Saudi Arabia on the request of Indian authorities. Media has even reported that he has already been deported to India.
According to a news report in The Hindu titled “Interpol warrant for Bangalore stadium attack suspect soon: police” http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3466571.ece?homepage=true (published on 29th May 2012, New Delhi edition, Page 14), “Interpol will within days issue a red-corner notice for the arrest of Saudi Arabia-based engineer Fasih Mehmood, sought by India for his alleged role in the April 2010 bomb attacks at a Bangalore cricket stadium, highly-placed police sources have told The Hindu.”
Photo courtesy, Indian Express, New Delhi, 24th May 2012
Karnataka police sources have told the daily, as it claimed, “the warrant will open the way for Mr. Mehmood to be deported to India, where police wish to question him about his movements in the days before April 17, 2010 — the date five improvised explosive devices were planted outside the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore.”
It gives an impression that Fasih Mehmood, a terror suspect, is wanted by Indian police, he is based in Saudi Arabia, he is on run and so the Indian authorities are seeking Interpol warrant for his arrest.
But statements of the family and media reports in last 15 days make the move of the agencies surprising and complex.
Fasih’s wife Nikhat Perween, who was with Fasih in Al-Jubail when he was picked on 13th May has told a number of media organizations here in Delhi in last two weeks how and by whom her husband was picked on that day.
What his wife says?
“Soon after Zohar (13th May afternoon) two Saudi policemen, two Indians (possibly officers from Indian Embassy) and a woman in burqa came to our home. They locked me in room and searched the entire house. They found nothing. They took my husband, his two mobiles and laptop and went away. My husband asked about charges and why he is being arrested. They said they had no information. It is a matter between the two countries. Govt has asked us to deport him (Fasih) to India where there are some charges against him. When asked about the charges, they said they don’t know. As I was alone, my husband called in a relative, the officers did not allow him to tell the relative anything about the happening. The relative came, and my husband asked me to go India with the relative,” she told.
The Hindu itself had reported about Fasih’s arrest
The Hindu, Delhi edition, itself had reported on 16th May (“Indian engineer held in Saudi Arabia” http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/article3423944.ece ): “Faseeh Mahmood, an Indian engineer living at Dammam in Saudi Arabia, has been arrested in that country on “terror-related charges” and has reportedly been deported to India.”
The Indian Embassy itself had confirmed on 15th May about Fasih’s arrest and said they were approaching Saudi officials to get access to Fasih. The Embassy, however, later did not respond to any query from the family and feigned ignorance.
The Sunday Guardian report of 20th May
The Sunday Guardian on 20th May in the report titled “Saudi deports terror suspect Bihar youth” http://www.sunday-guardian.com/investigation/saudi-deports-terror-suspect-bihar-youth said the Saudi government deported the engineer on the request of Indian government. The report even said that the interior ministry of Saudi Arabia told Indian Embassy in Riyadh that the person has been deported to India.
When an arrested suspect of the blast from Fasih’s village Barasmela in Darbhanga district told Indian intelligence officials about Mehmood, they wrote to their External Affairs Ministry seeking his extradition from Saudi Arabia. The ministry wrote an official letter to their counterparts in Riyadh which was dispatched through diplomatic channels and arrived at the Indian Embassy in the Saudi capital. Officials at the Indian Embassy forwarded the letter to the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs which notified the Ministry of Interior and requested that Mehmood be extradited. It was the Interior Ministry that contacted Mehmood’s employers, says the report.
“Mehmood was deported on 13 May. Those close to him said that he was shocked and did not know how to react. He told the company managers that he was innocent and that he had nothing to do with terrorism anywhere. His managers expressed their inability to help him in view of the extraordinary request from India. “Have faith in Allah,” one of the managers told him while handing him over to the Saudi police. The Saudi Interior Ministry then informed the Indian Embassy about Mehmood’s departure. He was immediately arrested on arrival in India. There is no further word on the investigations,” says the report of The Sunday Guardian.
Big question
In the light of the family statements and media reports, the question arises is: Why the need of an Interpol warrant for a man our agencies have already accessed/detained/arrested? Why this warrant to arrest him when he has already been extradited/deported under the extradition treaty after following all legal and diplomatic procedures?
The family says he is innocent and he should be released. As there is no official information about his condition and whereabouts after 13th May, eminent members of civil society in India have demanded the government to produce him in the court. Whether he is innocent or not should be decided by the court, but to keep a person in custody without court permission is illegal, they said.