NIA officials waiting, man keeps door shut for 6 hrs

An NIA team conducting a raid in a PFI-related case had to wait outside the residence of a man, who was accused in the 7/11 Mumbai train blasts case before being acquitted, in suburban Vikhroli on Wednesday as he did not open the door for more than six hours, an official said.

The National Investigation Agency's action against him was part of its raids conducted at several locations in six states of the country against the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) in connection with a case related to creating a disruption during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Bihar last year, officials said.

"An NIA team along with that of the Mumbai police reached the residence of Abdul Wahid Shaikh, who was earlier accused in the 7/11 train blasts case, located inside a chawl at Parksite in Vikhroli around 5 am. But Shaikh did not open the door for more than six hours and kept the officials waiting outside," the official said.

From inside the house, Shaikh asked the NIA officials if they had a search warrant, he said, adding that he opened the door around 11.15 am after his lawyer and some local social activists reached the spot.

"The NIA team then entered his residence and started their inquiry in connection with the PFI-related case," the official said.

A large number of police personnel were deployed outside Shaikh's residence, he said.

The central probe agency's search at his house lasted more than five hours.

Shaikh earlier posted a video message on WhatsApp, saying the police and some people gathered outside his residence since 5 am.

"They want to enter my house, also broke one door and damaged the CCTV camera of my house. They are not showing any documents to me pertaining to the case nor any FIR," he claimed.

"I have locked myself and my family members inside the residence for the last three hours, my wife and daughter are unwell. I have made a complaint with the police and the Mumbai Police Commissioner in this regard," he added.

After its search operation and inquiry, the NIA team left Shaikh's residence around 4.30 pm.

Talking to reporters outside the house after that, Shaikh said, "I cooperated with the NIA team during its operation. I do not have any links with the PFI, and the NIA team did not find anything suspicious from my residence."

"The NIA should not implicate me in a false case, that is why I called my lawyers and did whatever they asked me to do...I am being careful so that I am not implicated in a false case as happened in the past," he said.

Social activist and chairman of Modern High School, Aalam Khan, who was present there, said, "As the NIA officials did not have enough papers to show that they have been authorised to take action against Shaikh, we asked them to show us a document through email that mentions his name."

"After that, an email was sent by the NIA's Lucknow office mentioning the name of Shaikh, following which the NIA team was allowed to enter his residence to conduct a search at 11.15 am," he said.

His relative Zakira Shaikh Javed said Shaikh already lost several years of his life after being named as an accused in the train blasts case, in which he was later acquitted.

"Now, NIA officials are harassing him," she said.

Shaikh was named as an accused in the 7/11 train blasts case, but was later acquitted by a court.

On July 11, 2006, seven blasts were reported from different locations on the Western line of the city's local trains within a span of 15 minutes, killing more than 180 people and injuring several others.