In a major setback to Bangalore police, the First Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court has ordered the release of the prime suspect in Malleswaram blast case and two others.
Advocate for the suspects, S Balan, said Peer Moiuddin, Saddam Hussain and Tenkashi Haneef alias Mohammad Haneef were arrested in connection with the blast near BJP office in Malleswaram in the city. There was no material to link the accused with the case and to frame charges against them, he said.
Moiuddin, who was named as the prime accused, was released late on Tuesday night from the central prison in Parappana Agrahara. The other two, who are serving jail sentence in Tamil Nadu, would be handed over to the Tamil Nadu police on Wednesday and they will serve their punishment there.
The Karnataka police had taken them into custody suspecting their role in the blast.
When contacted, DG&IGP L R Pachau said he was not aware of the court order. “The trial is still on. How can the suspects be acquitted?” he said.
Not the First Time
It’s not the first time that the city police suffered a setback in handling terror cases. Earlier this year in February, Muthi-Ur-Rehman Siddiqui, a journalist, and Syed Yusuf Nalaband, an electrician, were released as the police could not establish charges against them. They were arrested on charges of hatching a plot for killing of two journalists.