Information provided under the Right to Information Act by the Jaunpur police contradicts the claim of the UP Special Task Force that Mohammad Khalid, one of the accused in the court blasts case, was arrested from Barabanki.

On Monday, defence counsel Mohammad Shoib presented a letter from

Circle Officer of Mariyahun in Jaunpur district, in the court of Special Judge Laxmi Kant Shukla.

The letter, stating that Khalid was arrested from Mariyahun market, was in response to a request under RTI made by Khalid’s uncle Mohammad Zaheer Alam Falahi.

He had sought copies of entries in the general diary from December 16 to 23, 2007, regarding his nephew’s arrest.

The Circle Officer, however, refused to give any other information, saying it could create a problem in prosecution. The investigating officer Chiranjeev Nath Sinha, however, had shown in his chargesheet that he had arrested Khalid from Barabanki on December 22, said Shoib.

Shoib alleged that Khalid and another accused, Tariq Qasmi, were kidnapped by the STF from Barabanki on December 12 and 16.

Their families had even lodged complaints with the police and the human rights commission, offices of Chief Minister, Governor and the prime minister.

“We have submitted a copy of RTI reply in the court of Additional Sessions Judge of Barabanki, Ram Kumar, also as a case related with the arrest of my clients is going on in that court also,” said Shoaib.

Alleging that Chiranjeev Nath Sinha was habituated to framing innocent people, the advocate said he was also the IO in the case of Aftab Alam Ansari, who was arrested from Kolkata on terror charge, but was found innocent by court.