ATS arrests infiltrator who had breached high security at Tuna

While Surani is Al Murad’s tandel (boat captain),Bandari is accused of mediating the deal to help Bachani sneak into India. ATS officials said that Bachani had paid the duo 10,000 dirham for the purpose.

ATS chief Ajay Tomar said,“At this point of time,we cannot rule out the possibility of Bachani being associated with some terrorist organisation. He is presently being interrogated by several agencies and nothing can be ruled out at this stage.”

According to the ATS,Bachani had boarded Al Murad with a laptop,two mobile phones and some clothes on April 14,posing as one Ashok Sindhi. Throughout the voyage,Bachani reportedly hid himself in a bunker in the boat and landed on the Tuna port on April 29. From there,he escaped to Mumbai and was arrested from Khar area following a tip-off. His wife and children continue to stay in Dubai,ATS officials said.

During his interrogation,Bachani had told the police that he worked as a commodity trader in Dubai and had incurred losses to the tune of Rs 1.50 crore. He told his investigators that he had decided to flee to India in order to evade a financer there,one Abdul Rehman. “There are,however,several gaps in Bachani’s account and we are yet to ascertain the actual reason behind his illegal visit to India,” Tomar added.

Preliminary police investigation reveal that Al Murad is owned by a Dubai-based businessman,one Kasam,who had let a Salaya-based Yusuf Jafrabadi handle the operations of the boat,that ferried between Dubai and Gujarat. Jafrabadi had in turn appointed Surani as tandel of the boat.