Samad who,asks man accused in same case

Abdul Samad Mohammed Zarar was named a suspect in the Pune blast but never charged; he was charged in a 2009 arms seizure but granted bail.

Abdul Samad Mohammed Zarar was named a suspect in the Pune blast but never charged; he was charged in a 2009 arms seizure but granted bail. Now,a co-accused in the 2009 case says he had never heard of Samad until last month.

I hadnt heard of any Abdul Samad until last month. Who is he? I have been hearing his name everywhere these days, said Sulieman Mehmood Patel,a Dongri resident,who too is on bail.

Samad,22,was granted bail on Tuesday after the prosecution failed to produce substantial evidence. According to a remand application by the ATS,he had supplied arms to Patel and other arrested accused at the behest of wanted accused Arif Mirza Baig.

My case is pending. I and the other accused are out on bail. The police havent filed the chargesheet yet. I knew the other accused,Haji Imran Ghulam Mohammad and Afzal Shaikh,but never heard of this man before, said Patel,adding he was introduced to the others througha friend.

I hear Samad is a young man who was caught for his role in the Pune blast. Suddenly I have my name appearing in the papers. I worry what the police will do next. Who knows,they might pick us up for the blast too, said.

Asked if he has been questioned since Samads arrest,Patel said,I have not been bothered by the police yet. I was anticipating some trouble,which luckily I havent had to face.

Patel,in his mid-30s,does odd jobs and lives in Temkar Mohalla,the same locality where Dawood Ibrahim lived until the late 1980s when he shifted base to Dubai. I am struggling to make ends meet. It is not a easy life when you are branded a accomplice of someone like Chhota Shakeel, Patel said.

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