7/11 trial: ATS officer deposes

An officer of the Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS),who made the first breakthrough in the serial train blasts case by arresting an accused— Kamal Ansari— from Madhubani in Uttar Pradesh,narrated in the special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court how he had received information about Ansari and nabbed him.

“Acting on a tip-off,we flew to Uttar Pradesh and nabbed Ansari from Basupati market in the wee hours of July 19,2006. After arresting him formally,we took him to his house and seized black colour powder from there,” he said. Ansari is alleged to have made calls to wanted accused and Lashkar-e-Toiba operatives based in Pakistan after the blasts. The calls were intercepted by the enforcement agencies. According to the officer,the accused was produced before a magistrate the next day and was sent to police custody. The revelations made by him helped the ATS arrest other accused. The defence counsel will cross examine the witness on Wednesday.

Meanwhile,Ansari informed the court that he was suffering from malaria and wanted to be shifted to JJ Hospital. The special court asked him if he was being treated by the jail doctors,to which he said yes. The court then directed him to take medical care from the prison.

The ATS had arrested 13 accused alleged to be the members of LeT and banned outfit,Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI),for conspiring and executing serial blasts in trains.