Is this the Indian doctor held for UK terror plot?

Mohammad Haneef, the 27-year-old doctor from Karnataka detained in Australia in connection with the foiled terror attacks in London and Glasgow, was selected to a medical college in India on merit, according to college sources.

The detained doctor's identity was revealed by the Queensland Medical Board.

Haneef, who cleared the Common Entrance Test under the government quota for meritorious students in 1997, went to the prestigious Dr B R Ambedkar Medical College at Kadugondana Halli in Bangalore. He passed out with a second class, scoring 1027 out of 1750 in the final year. His register number in college was 97MO551. The college management said Haneef had scored a first class in his first and second year.

From Bangalore, Haneef left for Liverpool, Britain, where he worked for some time as a doctor. He then saw an advertisement in The British Medical Journal for a registrar at the Gold Coast hospital in Queensland, Australia, applied and got it. A British high commission official told rediff.com that no information on Haneef can be shared at this stage.

Haneef is a native of Mudigere taluk in Chikmagalur, which is around 200 km from Bangalore city. Chikmagalur is famous for its coffee plantations, and also as the Lok Sabha constituency that elected Indira Gandhi in November 1978 after her defeat from Rae Bareli in March 1977.

Haneef's father Abdul Sami was a school teacher at Mudigere and is reported to have died in an accident. He has a married sister in Mudigere, and an aunt who lives in Pakistan.

While studying in Bangalore, Haneef resided at D/No 86, 2nd Floor, 5th Cross, Railway Layout, Pillanna garden, 3rd stage, Bangalore 560045.

Reserved: Sources in the college management say Haneef was a bright student, but a bit reserved by nature and had very few friends. He spent most of his time in the college library and very rarely participated in social activities in the college.

The management view: The management of the Dr B R Ambedkar Medical College initially said there were three different men in the college with the same name. However, they later clarified this was the only Mohammed Haneef who passed out in 2002. At present there is a Mohammad Haneef doing his internship in Bangalore while another namesake is doing his medicine at Bellary.

The RGUHS view: Sachidananda, the registrar of the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, said Haneef was a bright student and secured a first class in his MBBS. There were no complaints against him during his college days.

All medical and nursing college in Karnataka come under the RGUHS' purview.

The police: The Bangalore police say nothing is clear about the identity of the person being held in Australia. The intelligence wing too was clueless about Haneef till Tuesday evening.

Joint Commissioner of Police Gopal Hosur said the Bangalore police is not aware of the person's identity as yet. He said they would undertake an independent inquiry into the matter as details emerge.