26/11 trial: Former ACS said he ‘came to know that Jundal was brought from Saudi Arabia’

The defence counsel in the trial of Abu Jundal, implicated in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, on Wednesday cross-examined senior IAS officer and former additional home secretary Amitabh Rajan.

Defense advocate Abdul Wahab Khan confronted Rajan over his knowledge of Jundal’s arrest from Saudi Arabia. Rajan, who appeared before the special court, said that he “came to know that Jundal was arrested in Saudi Arabia.”

As per the prosecution’s case, Jundal was shown to be arrested on June 21, 2012 by the Delhi police at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

On July 25, 2012, the additional commissioner of police (crime) had written a letter to the passport office seeking details of Jundal’s passport.

“The witness told the court he came to know that Abu Jundal was brought from Saudi Arabia. The witness was the additional chief secretary of home at the time. His knowledge is not personal knowledge, but merely based on hearsay,” said Ujjwal Nikam, special public prosecutor.

During the hearing, Wahab also questioned Rajan over the sanction to prosecute Jundal. Rajan said the home minister of Maharastra is the final sanctioning authority under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Zabiuddin Sayyed alias Jundal had claimed that he was never arrested from the Delhi airport, but was deported from Saudi Arabia on the temporary passport issued by the Ministry of External Affairs.

In February, assistant passport officer Sitaram Gharat had appeared before the court. He had replied to the Mumbai police with a letter stating that Jundal’s passport was issued on December 24, 2003 and was valid till December 23, 2013.

Khan had confronted Gharath on what travel document was issued by Delhi passport office to Sayyed’s name. To this Gharath said that the Delhi office had issued him a passport in 2012 under the name Zabiuddin Sayed.