UK bombing convict to walk free in India

Sabeel Ahmed, the 26-year-old doctor who was recently convicted by an Old Bailey court in London, will return to his home town in Bangalore shortly and would be a free man, according to the Bangalore police.

While convicting him, the court also observed that he could be released immediately as he had already served out his remand period under trial.

The Bangalore police say Sabeel will be a free man as he is not wanted in any case in Bangalore.

Moreover, the UK court has also cleared him of terrorism charges and observed that the only fault of the doctor was that he withheld information regarding the attack on the Glasgow Airport, which allegedly was carried out by his brother, Kafeel Ahmed on June 30, 2007. Kafeel died of burn injuries a few months later.

A senior Bangalore officer told rediff.com that they would not carry out an inquiry against Sabeel, as he is not wanted in any case. There is also no information about him being linked with any terrorist outfit in India. The order of the London court makes this clear, the officer also said.

The Bangalore police had drawn out a dossier on Sabeel's brother Kafeel immediately after the attack at UK based on the request made by the Central Intelligence Bureau. While the dossier speaks about the activities of Kafeel, there is no mention of Sabeel in it.

The dossier only speaks in length about the hard disk seized belonging to Kafeel with jihadi material in it. There is also no mention about any terrorism related activity of Kafeel in India.

The Bangalore police while conducting a parallel investigation on both Kafeel and Sabeel also tried to explore whether the duo were in anyway involved in the IISC case. However, there was no material or evidence to prove that either of the brothers were involved.

Intelligence Bureau officials in Karnataka told rediff.com that there is no need of questioning Sabeel or even conducting an inquiry after he returns. However, the IB says he would be treated as a 'sleeper' and surveillance would be kept on him.

Sabeel's family members are tight lipped on his return to Bangalore. They say that they are not aware as to when he would return to Bangalore. The Bangalore police however say that he could come to India by the end of the week as he is awaiting clearance from UK.