Samad granted bail on Tuesday

Samad granted bail on Tuesday

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, June 16:  The Mumbai Session’s Court granted bail to Abdul Samad, who was arrested by the Maharashtra anti terrorism squad (ATS) for alleged involvement in the German Bakery blast of Pune and was later charged for alleged involvement in the arms case of 2009. 

Samad of Bhatkal is the brother of Yasin Bhatkal, who is suspected to have masterminded the German Bakery blast. The ATS arrested him as he alighted from the Dubai - Mangalore plane at Mangalore International Airport. 

P. Chidambaram, the home minister of India, congratulated the ATS for arresting the prime suspect in the German Bakery case; but later urged the ATS to be cautious when it could not confirm its charges. 

On Feb 13, nineteen people died when a bomb blast in the popular German Bakery in Pune. Authorities point an accusing finger at Indian Mujahideen (IM), a military outfit now banned and suspected to be associated with the Lashkar-e-Taibe (Let) of Pakistan, of being involved in the blast. 

Nearly 4 months after the blast, the Maharashtra ATS has failed to make much progress. Samad’s arrest was supposed to have provided the missing link in the case; however, the authorities soon realized that he had nothing to do with the German Bakery blast. The ATS thought that Samad has planted the bomb inside the bakery because his face resembled that of the youth, caught in the video footage, who entered the bakery, left a bag there, and then came out. But Samad was in Karnataka at that time attending a wedding, and his family gave the ATS videos of the event showing Samad in the midst of several people. 

Later, the police tried to charge him with regard to the arms case of 2009, which involved illegal smuggling of weapons by Chhota Shakeel’s gang. The ATS informed the lower court that it no longer needed custody of Samad. The lower court, however, rejected Samad’s bail plea and asked his lawyer to approach the session’s court. On Tuesday, the session’s court granted bail on surety of Rs. 25,000. Samad has also been prevented from leaving the country without the permission of the court and was asked to leave his passport with the police.