Shaukat Ali denies he was taken in custody

Panipat, Feb 23 (UNI) Rana Shaukat Ali, who lost five of his children in the Samjhauta Express tragedy, today denied that he was ever taken in custody by the police.

TV reports had last night quoted some unnamed Pakistani officials saying that Shauakat Ali was missing ever since he left Delhi yesterday and was probably taken in custody by Indian police.

''I was not taken in custody. I was brought here from Delhi for the identification of my children,'' he said.

Ali was one of the eyewitnesses who reportedly saw two suspects who had got off the Samjhauta Express minutes before the blasts that left 68 people dead on Sunday.

He ealier identified the bodies of his five children-- Ayesha (15), Bilal (13), Meer Hamza (11), Abdul Rehman (6) and Asma (4).

He said he would like to take them to Pakistan for burial.

UNI