Pune blast: PC now advises caution,says Bhatkal brother only a suspect

Having recently complimented Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad,the Pune Police and Central agencies for apprehending Abdul Samad...

Having recently complimented Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad,the Pune Police and Central agencies for apprehending Abdul Samad,the prime suspect behind the February 13 bomb blast in German Bakery in Pune within 100 days of the incident,Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Monday sought to clarify that Samad is only a suspect and this information should be treated with circumspection.

On May 25,2010,ATS,Maharashtra arrested one of the prime suspects in the Pune blast case. I wish to impress upon everyone that the arrested person,at this stage,is only a suspect, the Home Minister said.

Eyebrows had been raised when the ATS booked Samad (22) for a little-known case of illegal arms possession and not the German Bakery blast despite Chidambaram having named him a prime suspect in his first reaction after Samads arrest from the Mangalore airport.

Subsequently,Samads family had claimed that they had evidence to prove he was attending a family function on the day of the Pune blast.

Samad is the younger brother of Ahmed Mohammed Zarar Siddibapa (27),also known as Yasin Bhatkal,who is alleged to be an Indian Mujahideen member an an expert in making bombs.

A two-member Maharashtra ATS team has finished questioning Samads friends and college classmates in Bhatkal,Karnataka,as part of its investigations in the case.

Though the state police are yet to name Samad in the Pune blast,they have been asking people at Bhatkal about his whereabouts on the day of the German Bakery attack. According to sources,the ATS has technical evidence that while Samad was hosting a cousins post-wedding party on Bhatkals Jali beach around the time,he left for Bangalore in the early hours of February 13.