Wasim arrest takes new turn, family claims he is innocent

Wasim arrest takes new turn, family claims he is innocent
Yash Khajuria	10/8/2011 9:15:53 PM
JAMMU, Oct 8: While National Investigation Agency (NIA) claims that it has arrested alleged mastermind of the Delhi High Court blast case, Wasim Ahmed, who is pursuing Unani course in Bangladesh, his parents have claimed that he is innocent and himself volunteered to appear before the investigating agencies. Though there was no official word from where Wasim, was arrested, parents have claimed that they themselves handed over Wasim to the security agency. Ahmed’s sister had claimed that Azhar Ali Padari, a member of Pakistan-based militant outfit, who is in jail for kidnapping her younger brother Junaid Malik, has implicated her elder brother in order to take revenge. “We got them arrested because Junaid was kidnapped due to them. He took my brother’s name to take revenge. He (alleged kidnapper) wants that since his family has been ruined so our family should also be ruined,” added Shaziya Malik. Azhar Ali was quizzed by NIA regarding the bomb blasts in Kashmiri jail, he allegedly named Ahmed as involved in the blasts. The nitrate-based explosives that blew up at a busy entrance of the Delhi High Court on September 07 had killed 14 people and wounded dozens. Malik son of Reyaz-ul-Hassan Malik, Private Secretary to Chief Engineer of National Hydro-electric Power Corporation (NHPC), originally a resident of Bani but presently settled at Giri Nagar, Dugga in Kishtwar, was arrested following clues gathered during investigations by the NIA that he was a key conspirator in the blast along with his brother, Junaid Akram Malik, a commander of Hizbul Mujahideen, who was absconding. Sources said Junaid Akram Malik was also in touch with Hizbul Mujahideen militants based in Pakistan from Kishtwar after he was given the rank of commander by the outfit. Malik was reported to have transported explosives and other infrastructure to New Delhi from Kishtwar for fabricating and planting the IED with the help of his brother, Wasim and some other associates. Junaid was the major link in the blast, who was missing. While Intelligence agencies believed that Junaid could be hiding in inaccessible heights of Kishtwar after executing the blast, some agencies indicated that he might have left Kishtwar and proceeded to the Kashmir valley in some safe hideouts. Junaid was reported to have executed the blast outside Delhi High Court at the behest of his outfit’s commanders based in Pakistan and PoK. For the purpose, he had taken the services of his brother Wasim Akram, who was taken on 14 days remand by the NIA today from Special NIA Judge HS Sharma in New Delhi. Sources said that Wasim had fallen into trap of the militants in Dhaka, the headquarters of HuJI and frequented by Hizbul Mujahideen cadre from Pakistan. Dhaka-West Bengal-New Delhi route is also being used by the militants quite often to travel to this side or smuggle weapons and fake currency.