'Syed Shah Geelani may be probed in visa recommendation case'

Hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani may be questioned by the Delhi Police in connection with the visa recommendation given to an alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba militant who was was planning to bomb Delhi, Home Secretary RK Singh said on Froday.

When asked by reporters whether Geelani would be questioned in connection with the case, Singh said he would be questioned, if the probe requires.

Official sources said a copy of the recommendation letter given by Geelani for getting a Pakistan visa was found in the papers seized from 24-year old Athesham Malik, arrested by the Delhi Police.

The sources said recoveries made from Athesham, who had undergone a training in Pakistan in December, 2011, were materials for fabrication of IED, including wires, flash powder used in crackers and sulphuric acid.

A laboratory technician, Malik was earlier associated with Lashker in Sopore in Jammu and Kashmir and was arrested in 2007 along with two others, they said.

A spokesperson for Geelani, Ayaz Akbar, said, "We don't know about this case. But generally, if any Kashmiri comes to Geelani sahab for recommendation, he gives his recommendation only because they being Kashmiri. But then how can he know why he wants to go there and what his motive is?"