Yaseen Bhatkal, co-founder of Indian Mujahideen and an accused in the Dilsukhnagar twin blast case, alleged that he was facing a threat to his life from the police. In a petition submitted to the Special Court for NIA cases by Yaseen and four others he stated that he “apprehends a great threat to his life from the jail authorities as they have been working under the direct influence and control of the NIA”.
The accused further said they were lodged in solitary confinement in a small cell without proper food and sunlight even as they were suffering with many ailments, including skin and gastric problems.
“Almost the entire jail is covered by the CCTV cameras except the high security cell in which they are languishing,” Yaseen charged in the petition adding that “the CC cameras have not been installed to facilitate the jail authorities to create false, fabricated and imaginary stories.”
Yaseen's lawyer Khalid Safiullah stated that Yaseen was fearing that he might be killed in a ‘fake encounter’. The security agencies were ‘intentionally’ delaying the proceedings on one or the other pretext. He termed the reports of Yaseen planning to escape from the prison as ‘false’ and ‘untrue’. The court is likely to take up the petition on Thursday, when the charges against the accused are expected to be framed.
Yaseen, who was produced before the NIA court at RR district courts complex on Monday along with four other accused, is presently lodged in Cherlapally Jail.