[Reader-list] ATS red-faced again: Pune blast accused granted bail

[Javed]

I think the officials of ATS should paint their faces red permanently.
Everytime they arrest the wrong people, sooner or later they have to
release them and get the faces red.
---

Pune German Bakery blast: Abdul Bhatkal granted bail
PTI, Jun 15, 2010, 04.40pm IST

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra ATS was left red faced on Tuesday with a court
granting bail to Abdul Samad, arrested in connection with an 2009 arms
seizure case and alleged to be involved in the Pune blast case, saying
there was no evidence against him.
23-year-old Samad, a resident of Bhatkal district in Northern
Karnataka, had filed a bail application in the court of Additional
Sessions Judge S L Pathan claiming that he was an accused in the 2009
arms case for which he had been arrested.

Samad was picked up by the ATS Maharashtra on May 25 at Mangalore
airport after he was returning from Dubai and immediately Union Home
Ministry was informed about it. He was charged with supplying of arms
to three persons arrested from South Mumbai in August, 2009.

The judge observed there is no evidence against Samad and that even
the ATS had never shown Samad as a "wanted accused" in the 2009 arms
seizure case and ordered his release on a surety of Rs 25,000.

Only one person, named Arif Mirza Baig, was shown as "wanted accused"
in this case, the judge observed and pointed out that the other three
co-accused arrested earlier were out on bail. Hence on parity grounds,
Samad was granted bail.

The ATS had claimed a breakthrough in this year's Pune German Bakery
blast, which claimed 17 lives, with the arrest of Samad. Even Union
Home Minister P Chidambaram had issued a statement complimenting the
ATS for the breakthrough. However, the statement was diluted later and
the Home Minister cautioned the police to verify all the facts.

Defence lawyer Solkar argued that Samad's name was not included in the
investigating agency's remand application filed in 2009, while ATS has
been claiming that Samad has been named as an accused in the 2009 arms
seizure case.

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.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Pune-German-Bakery-blast-Abdul-Bhatkal-granted-bail/articleshow/6050756.cms