Fasih Mehmood’s case: the unanswered questions

Fasih Mehmood, an Indian engineer and terror suspect , was reportedly nabbed by authorities in Saudi Arabia remains missing over a month later with Indian authorities claiming he is a terrorist but refusing to admit that they know that he has been caught. The course of events since 13 May- the day Mehmood was picked up from his Jubail residence in Saudi Arabia- leaves many unanswered questions. Mehmood is presently stated to be a suspected member of a terror group and might be the second person to be deported from Saudi Arabia after Abu Jundal, the alleged key LeT operative. [caption id=“attachment_365198” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Fasih with wife Nikhat in happier times. Image courtesy Nikhat Mehmood.”] [/caption] There was no communication at all from the Indian or Saudi Arabian authorities on Mehmood’s detention after he was taken from home. It was only when his wife, Nikhat, moved the Supreme Court (SC) on 30 May that the Centre gave its version of the story. Responding to the SC notice to the Centre, additional solicitor general Gaurab Banerjee said Indian agencies had no role in Mehmood’s arrest and that the Indian ambassador in Riyadh was in touch with the government of Saudi Arabia seeking his whereabouts. “The external affairs secretary and the home secretary have conveyed that neither Indian agencies nor its officials were part of any alleged action to arrest Fasih in Saudi Arabia. It is not correct to say that Indian police arrested him. He is not in India,” Banerjee said , adding that the CBI issued a Red Corner Notice on 30 May. So, what was the basis of Saudi police or Indian agencies sleuths picking up Mehmood on 13 May- seventeen days before the issuance of the international arrest warrant? Priya Hingorani, human rights lawyer said, “This is blatant violation of human rights. Indian authorities are acting in a fishy manner. There are indications that they were in touch with the government of Saudi Arabia, but they are not accepting the same before the Court. The court, at best, can rely on the affidavit filed by the Centre.” Nikhat told Firstpost that the policemen in plain clothes, who picked up her husband, said there were criminal charges against him in India and he would be deported to India the same day. If that he was picked up by the Indian intelligence agencies and they were aware of his presence in the Gulf, why did the ASG tell the SC that India had no role in his arrest? And if the Saudi Arabia police arrested Mehmood, what was the basis of his arrest and why was it not forthcoming in sharing details of the same with the Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia? YP Singh, former IPS officer and now a practicing lawyer, said, “It appears that the Saudi authorities first questioned him about the possible connections with the LeT and then they informed the CBI that they had nabbed him." “Another possibility is that of a communication gap between the Saudi authorities and the Interpol wing of CBI, because of which the former took time to inform the CBI about Fasih’s arrest,” he said. The MHA’s affidavit filed before the apex court, a copy of which is with Firstpost, says that a trial court in Delhi issued a arrest warrant against Mehmood on 26 December, 2011, for his alleged involvement in the Jama Masjid bomb blast case (of September 2010). Mehmood’s family said that this warrant never reached them. Also, police never approached them asking for Mehmood’s whereabouts based on the said warrant. “This was the time when he was working in Saudi Arabia. What was the police waiting for? Why didn’t they take action based on this warrant?” said Nikhat. According to MHA affidavit, Fasih was involved in Chinnaswamy stadium blast in Bangaluru on 17 April, 2010, and the Jama Masjid shootout and blast in Delhi on 19 September, 2010. But the Interpol notice against Fasih names him as an accused in these two blasts along with Pune’s German bakery blast on February 13, 2010. Till Monday, confusion prevailed over Saudi Arabian authorities confirming Fashi’s arrest to the CBI- the nodal agency for Interpol in India. The Deccan Chronicle reported that the Saudi authorities confirmed to the CBI that they nabbed Fasih. “He has been recently nabbed by authorities concerned in Saudi Arabia. He was not detained by Indian intelligence agencies as alleged by his family members. The CBI sleuths are in touch with the Interpol unit of Saudi Arabia through diplomatic channels,” the newspaper quoted CBI sources as saying. However, the Indian embassy in Riyadh told the BBC that it had sought Fashi’s whereabouts from the Saudi authorities and they were yet to respond to the same.