Haneef Family seeks Centre's intervention

Bangalore, July 16: Shell shocked for the second time in three days over the Australian Government's move to detain Dr Mohammed Haneef in connection with the Glasgow airport attack attempt, Dr Haneef's family today pleaded the Indian Government to intervene, secure his release.

Terming as ''completely unfair'' the Austrlian Government's decision to detain Dr Haneef after revoking his visa following release on bail ordered by a Brisbane Court, Dr Haneef's dejected wife Firdous told newsmen here ''They are harassing my husband''.

Earlier on hearing the news about the bail order, Firdous had with a sense of relief thanked the people who helped the family in securing his release. She had said ''I am thankful to all those people who prayed for Haneef and Me''. "I thank our Prime Minister also. We were sure that just giving a sim card was not an offense and Haneef had no links with terrorism''.

On Centre's intervention she said '' My husband is innocent and the entire world knows it''. She wanted the Ministry of External Affairs to immediately intervene in the issue and secure an early release of her husband. ''The charge itself is baseless and they (MEA) have to help an indian citizen who is being harassed by the Australian government'' she added.

Asked whether she saw any political move in her husband's detention she said ''It looks like it''.

With a gloomy face that replaced the earlier rejoiceful mood following the Brisbane's court order for Dr Haneef's release on Bail Firdous said ''if they wanted to cancel his visa, why they did not do it on the day he was charged (on Friday last week)'' adding ''somehow the Australian government wanted to detain him''.

She said ''we are sending our cousin brother to Australia. He is going as soon as he gets visa''.

In a related development, City Police Commissioner N Achutha Rao told newsmen that the police had sent the hard disc recovered from the residence of Ahmed Siblings Kafeel and Sabeel, now in custody with the British Police in connection with the Glasgow Airport attack attempt, to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory in Hyderabad for investigation. Asked about the study carried by the Centre for Advanced Computing in Hyderabad, he said '' it's only media which had said about it''.

Replying to another question he said that neither the Birtish Police, nor the Australian police had contacted the city police so far in connection with the attack. The city police was investigating into the possible involvement of the Ahmed siblings with the Indian Institute of Science shoot out here two years ago.

The Australian government revoked Dr Haneef's visa on the basis of 'failed character test', soon after he got a bail from a Brisbane court. Australian Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews told reporters that Dr Haneef's visa had been revoked and he would be held at Sydney Detention centre. "It is cancelled as he had failed in character test," he said.

Earlier in the morning the doctor was released on a bond of 10,000 Australian dollars by the magistrate who posted the next hearing of the case for August 31.

Dr Haneef had spent 14 days in custody of the Australian Federal Police (AFP) who had arrested him on July 2 at the behest of the British police following the June 30 attack.

The doctor would now stay in the Sydney Detention centre for the remaining period of investigations. His lawyer Peter Russo has said that he would immeidately appeal against the Immigrant department's decision to get Haneef released.

UNI

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