M A I N   N E W S

Mumbai Attacked
Detainee dies after being grilled by probe team
nKin allege torture; inquiry ordered n Suspect’s sketch ready
Shiv Kumar/TNS

Mumbai, July 17
Looking for a breakthrough, four days after the triple blasts, the police on Sunday said it has prepared a sketch of a suspect even as brother of an alleged Indian Mujahideen (IM) member died in a hospital here after being grilled by investigators in connection with Wednesday’s explosions.

“The sketch is ready. It will be circulated among the select and top investigating officials. It will not be released to the public,” said a senior ATS official.

According to ATS sources, the sketches of other suspects will also be ready soon.

The police is facing allegations of torture after Fayaz Usmani, who was picked up from his home in Govandi on Saturday for questioning, died this morning. He was admitted to the Sion Hospital late in the evening. Doctors at the hospital said Usmani had suffered a brain haemorrhage. The postmortem did not indicate any external injuries.

Usmani’s son Azeem alleged that he was tortured in the police custody because of which he suffered a seizure. “My father was picked up for questioning and tortured during interrogation. The police is responsible for his death,” he said.

Fayaz’s wife, Rubaida, said: “When the police came to take him, they said that they will just interrogate him. He had gone alone. So we don't know what the police questioned him about. I don't know to what extent he was tortured, that he got so tense. They (cops) came back in an hour saying he was unwell and had been admitted to Sion Hospital.”

The Mumbai police, however, denied that Usmani was tortured. “Usmani was summoned by the Chembur police for questioning. He had been ill for the past few days and was suffering from hypertension," police spokesman Inspector Nisar Tamboli told reporters. After Usmani's condition deteriorated in custody, he was admitted to hospital where he passed away, Tamboli added.

The Samajwadi Party protested against Usmani’s death. “While those found guilty of carrying out the blasts should be hanged, the police should not harass an ordinary citizen," SP leader Abu Azmi told reporters here.

(With PTI inputs)

‘HuJi operative’ held

Patna: A suspected Huji operative was arrested in Kishenganj district in connection with the Mumbai blasts. The police seized from him a diary with some notes in Marathi. Reyayul Sarkar alias Akash Khan (30), who claims to hail from Bangladesh, was missing from the area when the attacks took place. But the police did not want to jump to any conclusion. “We are verifying all aspects,” RK Mishra, SP Kishenganj, said. — PTI