The family of Dr Imran Ahmed, a dentist from Mysore, has expressed its disbelief at the terror charges levelled by a team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against him.
Shakila Akhtar,Imran’s mother, called for a press conference to refute allegations against her son at Press Club on Tuesday, but cancelled it on Monday night.
“The family is in utter disbelief, and she is scared to speak to the media. The family has approached me and wants me to fight the case,” advocate Akmal Rizvi told Express. The family sources said Imran completed BDS in 2003 and struggled to settle down in Bangalore. His father Mumtaz Ahmed passed away in 2009, and in 2010, Imran went to Saudi Arabia. “Imran’s older brother is an engineer and works in Qatar. Imran worked in the Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia, but quit the job in seven months. Later, he worked in a marketing company for a while and then joined a private clinic. When there was an issue with the transfer of working visa from the previous company, he returned to India. The private clinic had promised to send him a visa,” Rizvi said.
Imran was at his Kanakapura Road apartment when NIA sleuths arrested him on charges of conspiring with other accused in an assassination plot.
The family sources said that Imran had come back from Saudi Arabia 15 days ago. They said Imran holds a genuine passport and is waiting for a visa to go back to Saudi Arabia. The NIA has reportedly named Imran Ahmed as the 22nd accused in an assassination plot, in which a journalist and another accused Yusuf Nalaband were released for lack of evidence.
According to sources, NIA got the name of Imran Ahmed in the confessional statement of Mohammed Akram alias Khalid, who was arrested in the assassination plot.
A native Islampur in Nanded in Maharashtra, Akram allegedly revealed the names of Zakeer alias Ustad who was handling the Karnataka operations and Abdul Hansala. According to the investigating agency, Akram had also named Imran who provided logistical support.
Flash Back
August 29, 2012: The Assassination Plot Probe - Bangalore police arrested a journalist and 10 others on terror charges. Police claimed that they recovered a 7.65 mm pistol and seven live rounds from their possession. They also charged that they were working for the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Harkat-Ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI). The police said they were plotting to assassinate BJP leaders, Hindutva leaders and journalists.
Janauary 2013: National Intelligence Agency (NIA) took over the investigation.
February 25, 2013:Journalist Muthi-ur-Rahman Siddiqui and another accused Yusuf Nalaband released.