FBI official to depose in industrialist abduction case

Kolkata, Sep 6 (UNI) An FBI official would depose before a special court here in connection with the abduction of an Indian industrialist by a Dubai-based underworld group in 2001.

The special court, functioning from the Alipore central jail premises, had issued summons to John T. Dwyer, then assistant legal Attache at the United States Embassy in New Delhi.

Since he has retired, another US official from the FBI would depose in an abduction case of Partha Pratim Roy Burman, co-owner of the shoe company Khadim.

The FBI official would arrive here for trial anytime this week, the sources said.

Dubai-based don Aftab Ansari, the main accused in the American Center shootout here on January 22, 2002 who was given a death sentence by a Kolkata court last year after he was brought here following his arrest, was allegedly involved in the abduction.

Burman was kidnapped from C.N. Roy Road here on July 25, 2001.

He was allegedly released after payment of a huge ransom, though police now needs proof (phone call records of a US cell company) to establish that.

A man, identifying himself as Arsalan, had called Barman's Salt Lake home demanding Rs 200 million as ransom.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) later tracked the call to Chennai and found that the call was only routed through the Tamil Nadu capital, but actually belonged to a US-based cellular operator Sprint.

The CBI and the CID, got in touch with the FBI to trace the calls which were actually made from Dubai.

The Sprint tower in Chennai was used to make the calls.

Aftab Ansari came into the picture after the FBI provided the call details.

Ansari and six others were sentenced to death by a Kolkata court in May last year for their involvement in the attack on the American Center in Kolkata in 2002, which killed five people.

The US consulate has informed the CID that its assistant legal attach, Kaathy Sita, will be in Kolkata to depose in the Khadim abduction trail at the court in Alipore jail.

The CID will move court soon to seek a date for her testimony on Aftab ansari's call details.

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