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Journalism of Courage
An Al Qaeda operative in a Mumbai slum, dreaming of crashing a plane into the House of Commons? That’s what the police said. But six months later, the police have got nothing against Mohammad Afroz Abdul Razzak except his ‘confession’, report and
COME and have tea but don’t mention the name Afroz. I can’t talk.’’ That’s Mumbai police commissioner M N Singh. A little persuasion and he asks you not to be ‘‘unfair and judge us as a failure, not at this stage’’. He’s clearly disturbed.
Four months after he was shown to have been arrested and six months after he was picked up from a small hotel in Navi Mumbai, it’s still not known whether Mohammad Afroz Abdul Razzak indeed owed allegiance to Osama’s Al Qaeda or if he was planning to blow up the House of Commons. But the case is surely blowing up in the Mumbai police’s face. Afroz walked out of jail on bail last week as the police failed to file a chargesheet within 90 days.
Forget the pointing of fingers over booking Afroz under POTO, which the police now want to undo. That’s not the real one. Would you believe this? For all their tall, loud claims, all that the police have against Afroz is his own confession. Nothing more. Three trips made to three countries by two of the city’s seniormost police officers, including Commissioner Singh, drew a blank. The much hyped investigation turned out to be just a balloon that has been pricked. No wonder Singh’s lips are pursed. But the facts speak for themselves.
First, the Al Qaeda tag: Give us at least two names from that organisation that Afroz has interacted or worked with or at least been in touch with, said the prosecution to the police. Three weeks of search yielded nothing. This, say lawyers, is one of the biggest loopholes in the case. ‘‘You have accused a man of terrorist links with an organisation like the Al Qaeda but made it sound as if he operates on his own. Afroz is the most perfect example of how the police can misuse POTA,’’ remarks Justice (retd) Hosbet Suresh of Bombay High Court.
| What the cops said | and what they didn’t |
| Afroz was at Heathrow airport with fourothers on Sept 11, preparing to board a Manchester-bound flight to crashit into the House of Commons He was picked up before 9/11, according to sources, forroutine questioning, and no one else from the group has been arrested Rialto Towers in Melbourne, Australia, was also a target Australian investigators visiting Mumbai to follow upthe case discounted this theory and dissuaded the Mumbai cops from visitingAustralia Afroz was among a group of learners in Australia whichalso harboured two IC-814 hijackers He can’t be guilty by mere association Afroz, his family and his financiers spent nearly Rs1 crore on the flying schools Family insists they spent Rs 30 lakh on his foreign trainingand the money came from elder brother Farooq Afroz was initially charged with robbery infour cases In three of the four cases, the police discharged him;in the fourth, they failed to file a chargesheet |
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Now, the grand plot: The most sensational part of the confession was the plan to blow up the British House of Commons and Parliament House in New Delhi. If Afroz was part of a suicide squad, there must be other elements to corroborate his statement — such as accomplices, source of funds, bank accounts, logistical support and so on. ‘‘The police are parroting today what they were saying four months back without any additional information,’’ points out a well-known defence counsel who has been studying the case.
The bank accounts: No light has been shed on his bank accounts in Mumbai or elsewhere in the country or anywhere in the three countries he is supposed to have visited — Australia, England and the United States.
The SIM card lead: Afroz’s SIM card allowed him global roaming facility but the police still do not have a statement from the company concerned giving details of the calls made and received from this number.
The SIMI factor: They didn’t stop at Al Qaeda. The police made both Afroz and his brother, Mohammad Farooq, the clearing agent who is supposed to be absconding, members of the banned Students’ Islamic Movement of India, which is listed under POTA. Farooq was wanted in a COFEPOSA case for defrauding the state of Rs 8 crore in 1998. He was very much at their Cheetah Camp house in the initial days of Afroz’s arrest and why the police couldn’t find him is a mystery. Farooq’s associate, Raju Phatak, is in jail for the same offence. Some of that money could well have gone into the international flying school training that Afroz was sent for but the police have not made a link between the two.
Finally, the accused: Father Abdul Razzak has introduced more than half-a-dozen lawyers to Afroz, who has steadfastly refused to take on one. Why?
Afroz apparently has nothing against the cops, who have charged him with everything — from robbery of scooter spares and diamonds to waging war against the nation and terrorism.
He could have walked out of the Byculla prison on bail much earlier but said he wished to stay on because he was learning yoga and undergoing a course — the Art of Living!
What could, however, completely demolish the case — apart from the fact that Section 8 of POTO doesn’t mention the Al Qaeda — are reports that Afroz was picked up not in early October but sometime in August for routine questioning. Around his house in Cheetah Camp and among the top echelons of the Navi Mumbai police, this little ‘‘truth’’ is whispered to anyone who probes deep. In that case, all this may have very little to do with the 9/11 attacks.
My son wanted to impress girls, his only weakness: Afroz’s father
