Car bombing: Court seeks police response on Kazmi's Mossad allegation

Amidst allegations that Israel's intelligence agency Mossad was interrogating Syed Mohammed Ahmad Kazmi, arrested for the February 13 diplomat's car bombing, a court here today asked Delhi police to file an affidavit giving its response.

Though Delhi Police denied the allegations, Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vinod Yadav, apparently not convinced with the oral submission, wanted the cops to state on affidavit and sought the official register of the officers questioning the suspect.

On Kazmi's complaint that besides Delhi Police "Israeli officials (Israeli Intelligence Agencies, Mossad etc), are lined up to interrogate him daily and they are not in unifrom in order to hide their identity, CMM Yadav said "the reply of the Special Cell is silent about the wearing of uniform and name tags by the interrogating officers. Let a detailed reply be filed."

He also sought to know "if any register of names of persons interrogating Kazmi is being maintained and, if not, facts be stated by way of an affidavit by officer not below the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police."

The magistrate further told the police that "he (Kazmi) is a human being and not a chatel or a property."

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vinod Yadav made the remark as Delhi Police opposed Kazmi's counsel's submission that "he has become a lab testing pig" who is being harassed in custody and is being interrogated by "not only the officials of Delhi Police but also by officials of other investigating agencies as every day he sees a new face interrogating him."

Delhi police however, submitted the "interrogation of the accused is being conducted as per law without causing any sort of harassment whatsoever to him. The allegations levelled are false and denied," the Delhi Police Special Cell told the court in a written reply.