Surat trader picked up for blasts in Hyderabad,let off after hours

According to police,the man’s physical appearance and his dress matched with that of the blasts suspect whose photographs they had with them.

As per details,Chintamani Sahoo (32),a Jharkhand native living in Hitesh Apartments in Nanapura,runs an embroidery business in the same area.

After being picked up,Sahoo was taken to Athwalines police station,where he was questioned since he too,like the blasts suspect,was wearing a yellow jersey with white strips,blue jeans and slippers.

During questioning,Sahoo told police he had been staying in Surat since 1999 at Nanpura,where he owned one shop and had taken two more on rent for his business.

A police officer said they also spoke to Sahoo’s friends to verify his statements before concluding he had no role in the blasts.

Sahoo,however,was arrested for flouting a police notification since he had not submitted details of his 12 employees to the local police station. He was later released on bail.

Later,Sahoo told The Indian Express,“This was my first encounter with police. They asked me a number of questions and even compared my physical appearance with that of the man whose photograph they had. After five hours of interrogation,they told me I was not a suspect. I was greatly relieved,so was my family.”

Athwalines police inspector D D Damor said,“We have got a photograph of the Hyderabad blasts suspect. After our policemen informed us they had seen a youth who resembled this suspect,we kept a watch on him for two days and later picked him up. After interrogation,we found Sahoo was not a suspect.”