The Unani medicine student in Dhaka from Kishtwar,Waseem Akram Malik,who has been arrested by the National Investigation Agency for the September 7 bomb blast outside the Delhi High Court,was apprehended for militant links earlier as well,only to be released later by the Jammu and Kashmir Police. Sources told The Indian Express that Waseem was apprehended while travelling along with a Jaish-e-Mohammad commander,Mohammad Saleem alias Sher Khan,at Narwal in Jammu city during 2005. However,he was later released unconditionally as nothing incriminating was found on him. Waseem had,at that time,appeared for the Class XII exams and was preparing for entrance test to a medical college in the state. While senior police officers refused to say anything on the matter,sources close to Waseems family said the matter pertained to 2005 when a party of the Special Operation Group intercepted a matador at Narwal and arrested JeM commander Mohammad Saleem. Waseem,who had been returning home from his coaching centre by the same vehicle,too was apprehended. However,sources close to Waseems family said he had no link with Saleem who had come to Jammu from Kishtwar to surrender following an arrangement with senior police officers. As the duo happened to be living in the same mohalla in Kishtwar,Waseem greeted him out of respect,they said. After police questioning,Waseems family members were called and the boy was handed over to them as nothing incriminating was found against him. Saleem,who later helped the police smash the JeM network,is reportedly in Kishtwar following his release on bail. Meanwhile,during raids at Waseems Kishtwar residence,the NIA team seized a Nokia mobile having one Excel SIM,two SIM cards of Idea,three photographs of Waseem and his younger brother Junaid Akram,a pocket telephone diary containing some numbers and a bunch of papers including visiting cards of Calcutta Travels. It also seized a letter from Prof Cyrus Shauiba of the Medical College in Bangladesh,informing Waseems parents about his absence from classes. Junaid,according to police,is a Hizbul Mujahideen commander and also a prime accused along with Waseem in the Delhi blast. His parents,however,say Junaid was abducted by Hizbul Mujahideen operative Azhar Ali from Jammu and since then,there has been no trace of him,though they had lodged a police complaint.
