Bhatkal not 'wanted' in arms case

Mumbai, Jun 7: Abdul Samad Bhatkal, the prime suspect in the Pune German Bakery blast, was never a 'wanted' in the illegal arms seizure case for which he has been arrested, pointed out Bhatkal's advocate Mubin Solkar.

He was arrested by Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), while he was coming from Dubai, on May 25 from Mangalore Airport. He was arrested as an accused supplying arms to three people arrested from south Mumbai, in Aug 2009.

Advocate Mubin Solkar said that his name was not included in the agency's remand pleas filed in 2009, while ATS has been claiming that Samad has been named as a 'wanted' in the 2009 arms seizure case.

ATS claimed that Samad, who is very close to the gangster Chhota Shakeel, provided arms to Haji Imran, Suleiman Patel and Afzal Shaikh who were arrested on Aug 5, 2009 from a Mazgaon hotel. But the FIR registered on that day and their remand application specifically mentions that these three accused accepted arms from one Arif Mirza Baig, through Chhota Shakeel.

Solkar said that ATS had claimed that Imran and Patel had revealed during the questioning that they received weapons from Samad, in the first remand application filed on May 25, to seek Samad's custody. Solkar said that he would bring up this point in the court while arguing on Samad's bail plea on Wednesday, Jun 9.

OneIndia News