Bhatkal raises a toast to judiciary

A day after Pune blast suspect Abdul Samad, 23, was granted bail by a Mumbai sessions court, residents in his home town, Bhatkal, on Wednesday expressed confidence that he would be exonerated of all charges.

The Mumbai anti-terror squad (ATS) had arrested Samad Sidhipapa, aka Abdul Samad Bhatkal, was arrested from Mangalore airport on June 25, on his arrival from Dubai.

The ATS claimed that Samad, allegedly close to gangster Chhota Shakeel, had provided arms to Haji Imran, Suleiman Patel and Afzal Shaikh, who were arrested on August 5 last year from a Mazgaon hotel, besides naming him a suspect in the February 13 blast in Pune, which left nine dead and injured 45 others.

“We are sure that Samad will come home clean of all charges the Mumbai ATS has slapped on him. Our counsel Mubin Solkar in Mumbai has told us the case of ATS was weakening by the day,” Bhatkal Town Municipal Council member Inayathulla Shahbandri said.

Incidentally, Maharashtra’s director-general of police, D Shivanandan, on Wednesday admitted that the Pune probe had gone wrong.

“The first mistake was the blast and second, wrong investigation. What we need is right investigation at the right time,” the DGP said in Mumbai.

“We did not feel bad when three other boys from here, Yaseen, Riyaz and Iqbal, were chased by the police all across the country on charges of terror links. But Samad is an innocent person,” Shahbandri said.

The councillor added that the Bangalore police had twice questioned Samad, but could not find any evidence against him “due to his clean background.”

Meanwhile, Samad’s relatives, who had reached Mumbai, would accompany him back to Bhatkal, where he probably would be accorded a hero’s welcome on Thursday.

His friends and relatives visited his house in Mugdamnagar in Bunder area and celebrated the bail with sweets and firecrackers.

They hailed the Indian judiciary as the best in the world.
Samad’s mother Rehana Bibi, meanwhile, thanked the Supreme Being. “Allah, the merciful, has saved my innocent son from being branded as anti-Indian.

Samad’s abba (father) is in Dubai. Samad did not get any job here, and hence his father took him to Dubai,” she said. Bibi had been busy searching for a bride for Samad when he was arrested.