As a special plane carrying Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal and his accomplice took off from Patna for New Delhi on Friday, the BJP criticised the Nitish Kumar Government for not taking Bhatkal on remand in connection with the much dreaded Darbhanga module raised by him.
A joint team of Bihar Police and NIA had arrested both Yasin Bhatkal and his aide Asadullah Akhtar from Nahar Chowk in Raxaul along the Indo-Nepal border on Thursday.
leading the attack, former Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said that the Central intelligence agencies have established the fact that Bhatkal was instrumental in indoctrinating poor and unemployed youth to terror activities by pretending himself as an Ayurveda doctor in Darbhanga for a very long time.
Modi tweeted, “Those who (JD-U) declared Ishrat Jahan as Bihar’s daughter can also declare Yasin Bhatkal as Bihar’s damad (as he is married in Samastipur).
He had also tweeted, “Why Bhatkal was not taken on remand by the Bihar Government for interrogationIJ Whereas six State Governments are in queue for taking him on remand”.
Bhatkal masqueraded as Dr Imran with the purpose of recruiting local youth and several of them had been arrested by various Central agencies too. Bihar’s links with the terror attacks had also been found on several occasions too. The father-in-law of Bhatkal is a native of Samastipur district and was even taken into custody in Delhi two years back on the charge of maintaining contacts with one of the most wanted terrorists.
Modi also claimed that the State Government exerted pressure on the Central investigating agencies to show that Bhatkal was arrested on the Indo-Nepal bordering areas in Uttar Pradesh’s Maharajganj district. When the Uttar Pradesh Government did not agree to the proposal, the arrest of Bhatkal and his aide was shown at Raxaul in Bihar, the BJP leader alleged.
Bihar Police also did not take Bhatkal and his associate into custody despite several hours of their arrest and it was not publicly disclosed that both of them were under the custody of the State police until NIA team reached the spot.
Modi said that nearly 20 youth accused of indulging in terrorist activities had been taken into custody from Bihar still the State Government had not taken any effective step for demolishing hideouts and network of all these alleged terrorists.
State Food and Consumer Protection Minister Shyam Rajak said that it is up to the State police and competent courts to decide whether Bhatkal should be taken on remand for interrogation. “Sushil Modi should understand that it is not the State Government which takes somebody on police remand and hence no fault should be found with the intention of the Government on this count,” he remarked.