Terror suspect Sameer Sardana was today granted bail by a local court after the prosecution said he could not be linked to any militant group though he was found in possession of “incriminating documents which endangered national security”.
The Dehradun-based man, son of a retired Major General, was being investigated by Goa’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) after his arrest on suspected terror links last week.
Judicial Magistrate of Vasco Shabnam Shaikh granted the 44-year-old bail on a surety of Rs 10,000 and asked him to present himself before Vasco Police everyday over the next four days.
“I have full faith in court. The justice is partly served. I am confident that I will get clean chit,” Sardana told reporters after obtaining bail.
Sardana was arrested on February 1 from Vasco railway station. His maternal uncle Harinder Singh Rawat, who is also a retired Army officer, had filed the bail petition.
When the plea came up before the court today, Devanand Korgaonkar, Assistant Public Prosecutor, admitted that Sardana could not be linked directly to any banned terror group.
He, however, claimed Sardana was not cooperating with the investigating agency and a few documents found in his possession were “highly suspicious, incriminating and dangerous to the national security”.
The prosecution stated the suspect was found in possession of six passports, 23 SIM cards, four mobile phones, a laptop, Internet dongle and documents such as bank statements and handwritten notes.
The Assistant Public Prosecutor said intelligence agencies, after analysing data from a SIM card used by him, found Pakistani telephone numbers in it. Sardana has 35 email IDs, but he has refused to part with their passwords.
He told the court the suspect possessed anti-national and anti-establishment materials, and also information on making bombs.
Defence lawyer Shashikant Joshi said Sardana hailed from a respectable family and is a CA by profession. “On completion of his education, Sameer worked as an executive at some of the top international consulting companies, where he proved his proficiency in management consultancy.”
Joshi said his client is willing to cooperate with investigators and ready to comply with conditions imposed by the Court.
( Source – PTI )
