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'Most wanted' fugitive in Thane,
not Pakistan, says wife
Wazhul Khan, one of India's 50 "most
wanted" fugitives, is actually living in Thane on bail, his wife
confirmed Tuesday, prompting the Maharashtra government to order a
probe into how his name figured in the list of 50 runaway
terrorists
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Mumbai/New
Delhi: Wazhul Qamar Khan, one among the 50 "most wanted" fugitives named
for terror bombings in India, says he is actually living in Thane
on bail and not hiding in Pakistan as stated in India's list given
to Islamabad. An embarrassed government has ordered a probe into
the goof-up.
"Not only am I not a wanted any longer, I am very much living in
Thane city's Wagle Estate locality. I am currently awaiting trial
in several cases for which I was arrested last year," a distraught
Khan told IANS in Thane in Maharashtra.
As the union home ministry in Delhi went into a tizzy, the
Maharashtra government was asked to look into the process of how
the list was prepared and who all were involved in compiling the
list of 50 most wanted terrorists allegedly hiding in Pakistan.
In Maharashtra, the government and police were at a loss over how
and why Khan figured in the list handed over to Pakistan during
the March home secretary level talks in Delhi.
Khan's name was 41st in the list of fugitives, who include
underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, his 20 aides, 2008 Mumbai attack
mastermind and Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed and dreaded
terrorist Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.
He claimed that he has never been to Pakistan.
Khan was released on bail last July after he was arrested in May
for his alleged involvement in the 2002 and 2003 terror bombings
in Mumbai and its suburbs. He has been living and working in
Thane.
Journalists lined up outside his residence after a national
newspaper reported that Khan was not hiding in Pakistan, as
claimed in the list.
Khan, 42, a labour contractor, lives in the middle-class locality
along with his paralysed mother Mobia Begum, wife Yasmin and their
five children.
He now fears that the goof-up may affect his job. "It will spell
doom for my livelihood."
Khan is accused of involvement in at least four terror blasts and
is now awaiting trial for his role as a foot soldier in executing
them. But he maintained he was being "framed by the authorities".
He is accused of transporting and planting the explosives at the
targeted sites at Mumbai Central railway station in December 2002
and in Vile Parle, Mulund and Ghatkopar areas in January, March
and July, respectively, the following year.
Tuesday being a public holiday, Maharashtra home department and
police officers in Mumbai were not available for comment.
Home Minister P. Chidambaram, who was in Agartala, played it down.
"I did not prepare the list. It was prepared months ago. Whether
it is the same person or two persons of the same name, we have to
see," he said.
"I don't think we should make a big issue of it. It is possible
there could be an error or there could be two people with the same
name. I will go back and check."
But home ministry sources in Delhi said they were seeking a report
from the state police and also the status of his case and his
current location.
The sources said it appeared that there was some "lack of
coordination" between the Anti-Terrorist Squad of the Maharashtra
Police and the state home department and the other agencies
involved in preparing the list. They said Khan's name was
forwarded by the state government to the union home ministry.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost no time to
castigate the government over the "monumental lapse which has
caused an embarrassment for the whole country".
"The home ministry has risen to the maximum level of incompetency,"
BJP leader Arun Jaitley told reporters in Delhi.
The Congress played down the issue. "There is an inquiry being
internally conducted by the home ministry. Let the facts emerge
conclusively. And then if there would be a reason to respond, we
would definitely respond to it," Congress spokesperson Manish
Tewari said.
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