'Bhatkal name hurting us'

Family members of terror accused demand fair probe

The family members of the three terror accused arrested by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) police on Saturday demanded fair and open investigation in the case.

Speaking to media persons here, they accused the police of targeting their kith and kin merely because they hail from Bhatkal and that one of the accused has married a Pakistani national.

The parents of Syed Ismail Afaq, a homoeopathy doctor, said their daughter-in-law, a Pakistani national, has valid documents. “My son married a Pakistani national in the year 2005. We have many relatives in Pakistan and the Gulf countries. Just because we speak to our relatives in Pakistan over phone, our children should not be labeled terrorists.

“A few plainclothesmen had come to our Cox Town house on Thursday and did not find any incriminating material. Those policemen in fact called their seniors and on the orders from the person on the other side, they seized laptops, mobile phones and chargers which can be found in every house,” Afaq's father Abdul Aleem said.

Another accused Saddam Hussein's father Fairoz Khan said his son had gone to Bhatkal bus stand to hand over a parcel of wedding cards when policemen in plain clothes picked him up.

The cops later raided the house but got nothing. Akmal Rizvi, advocate appearing for the terror suspects, said the police have not followed formalities while making arrests.

“Saddam was busy distributing cards of his sister’s wedding. He had gone to the bus stand to send some cards to Shivamogga when police arrested him. He has been tortured by the police on Thursday and it was brought to the judge’s notice.

“The judge has asked the police to get the medical report. The police have not conducted mahajar procedure in a fair manner. Local residents were not allowed anywhere around Subur’s house. They could have asked the local residents to be the witnesses during the mahajar when they claim that huge cache of explosive substances were seized. We will get all documents submitted by the police by Monday and decide future course of action,” Rizvi said.

The third accused MBA student Abdus Subur's father Mohammed Hussein said their house was locked for the last two months and the police broke open the door without informing anyone.

“My wife’s brother was admitted in a hospital in Kerala due to kidney ailment. We had gone to Kerala on January 7 and got the message from Bhatkal saying that police have forced open the house. We came back immediately only to know that our son has been arrested on charges of terrorism,” he said.