Ahmedabad blast accused, two others remanded in four-day police custody

GAYA: Ahmedabad serial blast accused

Tausif Khan

and his two associates – Sarwar Khan and Sana Khan – were on Friday produced in the court of Gaya chief judicial magistrate Ramanand Ram from where they were remanded in four-day police custody for further interrogation. Sarwar Khan and Sana Khan have been charged with harbouring a proclaimed offender.

Tausif was arrested from a cyber cafe in the Rajindra Ashram locality of the town on Wednesday along with Sana, a resident of Karmauni village under Dobhi police station. Sarwar Khan is the owner of a private school at Karmauni village where Tausif was teaching science, mathematics and English. The trio has been booked under Unlawful Activity Prevention Act.

Police sources said Tausif, a resident of Modern Duplex in the Juhupura locality of Ahmedabad, had planted a bomb in an Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service (ATMS) bus that exploded near

Sarkhej

area around 7pm on July 26, 2008. He has been chargesheeted in the serial blasts case. Tausif is also wanted by the Surat Police in connection with nearly 12 cases.

The ATMS bus explosion was one of the series of 21 explosions that had rocked Ahmedabad within a span of 70 minutes. Altogether 56 people were killed and 200 others injured in the serial blasts. Earlier, in 2016, Mujib Sheikh, Tausif's alleged partner in crime, was gunned down by Madhya Pradesh police in an encounter near Bhopal.

Zonal IG Naiyyer Hasnain Khan said Sherghati DSP Upendra Prasad has been chosen as the investigating officer of the case.

Police officers engaged in the investigation said a multi angle probe to identify Tausif’s local and outside contacts, his financial dealings, movements and other details was in progress. “During interrogation, Tausif has not been very cooperative. He is giving vague and at times misleading answers,” said a police officer.

Initial investigations revealed that Tausif’s brother had visited Gaya at least once and he (Tausif) has been a regular visitor to different cities across the country, including Jaipur. Police have recovered Rs 14,000 in cash from Tausif’s possession. “He has denied having any bank account in his name, but the pen drive recovered from his possession suggests Tausif holds a bank account. Two SIM cards have also been recovered from him. The IT cell of the district police is analysing the call detail records,” the police officer added.

Tausif, who assumed the name of

Atiq

in Gaya to conceal his real identity, was present at Sahdeo Khap village on July 7, 2013 when serial blasts rocked Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya. Sarwar Khan, Tausif’s local associate, was extensively quizzed by the NIA in connection with the Mahabodhi Temple blasts, which were engineered by Ranchi-based IM module. Tausif, however, managed to escape the NIA scanner.

Sahdeo Khap and Karmauni villages, the places where Tausif spent most of his time, are located on National Highway 83. Although police frequent these villages in connection with criminal cases, Tausif’s presence was never noticed. Both these villages are of moderate size. While Sahdeo Khap comes under Magadh University police station, Karmauni falls under Dobhi police station.