Bandra tailor arrested by ATS on terror charges granted bail

The Bombay High Court has granted bail to a 50-year-old tailor from Bandra East who was arrested by the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) in 2021 for alleged involvement in terrorist activities. The court found no evidence connecting him to the other accused or indicating his involvement in anti-national activities.

The Bombay High Court recently granted bail to a 50-year-old tailor from Bandra East, who was arrested by the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) in 2021 for his alleged involvement in terrorist activities.

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A division bench of justice Revati Mohite Dere and justice Gauri Godse said there was no material to indicate that he was either involved in anti-national activities or was aware of the involvement of another person arrested in the case.

According to prosecution, on September 13, 2021, ATS received information that one Zakir Hussain, on instructions of his Pakistani handler – Anwar aka Anthony – was trying to recruit people to carry out terrorist attacks in India.

An FIR was registered at Kalachowkie unit of ATS against Anwar and Hussain. Five days later, Hussain was arrested in one Mohammed Irfan Rehmatali Shaikh’s house at Kherwadi Road in Bandra East. Shaikh, a tailor by profession, was arrested on September 30 after Hussain gave a disclosure statement to ATS and later, ₹50,000 in cash and a memory card were seized from Shaikh’s house.

After a special court on July 8, 2022, rejected his bail plea, Shaikh moved the high court.

During a hearing on Tuesday, the HC accepted his argument that there was no material to connect him with the other accused. The bench said if Shaikh had the intent to indulge in terrorist activities or knowledge that Hussain was engaged in anti-national activities, he would have destroyed the cash and the memory card kept by Hussain at his residence, but he didn’t do so.

About the 205 calls exchanged between the two over a year, the court said it could not be termed incriminating per se, since the 50-year-old tailor had known Hussain since the lockdown and the latter had helped him during the period. “Mere exchange of calls between the accused no.1 (Hussain) and the appellant (Shaikh) would not connect the appellant with the alleged offences. It could neither be called incriminating, more particularly, when there is no other evidence to connect the appellant with the alleged offences,” the bench said.

The HC said considering the material on record and the statements of witnesses, the circumstances relied upon by the prosecution were not enough to sustain a reasonable belief that the accusations against the tailor were prima facie true. It granted Shaikh bail on furnishing a personal bond of ₹50,000 and one or two sureties in the like amount.