Blast accused was treated for epilepsy, claims father

Nineteen-year-old Amir Abbas Dev, a Kishtwar resident, and an accused arrested for his role in the Delhi high court blast case, has a history of being treated for epilepsy, his father has claimed.

Nineteen-year-old Amir Abbas Dev, a Kishtwar resident, and an accused arrested for his role in the Delhi high court blast case, has a history of being treated for epilepsy, his father has claimed.

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According to medical journals, epilepsy is a brain disorder in which a person has repeated seizures (convulsions) over time. Seizures are episodes of disturbed brain activity that cause changes in attention or behaviour.

Amir is accused of providing a draft of the email, which claimed responsibility of the blast, to another accused Abid Hussain. The email was sent from ID 'harkatuljehadi2011@gmail.com' a few hours after the blast on September 7. The email demanded 'repealing' of death sentence to the Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.

Amir's father told HT from Kishtwar that his son is innocent. "I have all documents with me to prove that my son was on medication for epilepsy when he was a kid. His illness has resulted in many medical problems. He remains to be a dull student. I have also told the NIA investigators about his illness," said Ghulam Abbas Dev, father of Amir.

"Amir only knew ways to his college, the mosque where he prayed and his maternal grandmother's house. He used to get scared when someone shouted at him. All these years he has traveled to Jammu only once. He is a very religious boy. He is not involved in any conspiracy," added Ghulam Abbas Dev.

Amir is in the custody of NIA. According to sources, he has changed his statement many times during interrogation.

Investigators suspect that Amir was given the draft of email written on a piece of paper by a person who is yet to be traced. Amir handed over the draft to Abid Hussain who mailed it to media organisations a few hours after the blast.

All the arrested accused and suspects in the case are either teenagers or in their early twenties. Amir turned 19 in July this year. Abid Hussain has been confirmed by the NIA as a juvenile during court proceedings. Another Kishtwar native and a student of MBBS in Dhaka Wasim Akram Malik is 23. The NIA is interrogating Amir and Wasim to unravel the conspiracy of the blast that claimed 15 lives and left over 70 injured.