Thirty-three-year-old Abrar Ahmed Saiyeed Ahmed, who the police had till now been claiming is a prime witness in the September 8 Malegaon blasts case, was on Saturday arrested by the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) for allegedly planting one of the bombs which went off in the textile town three months back.

Since the blasts, not only Abrar was under vigil, round the clock, his whereabouts were being kept secret for the past two months. And while the police claim they had only provided him “protection” as he feared for his life, his family members allege that the police were threatening him and “using” him though he was not even present at the spot where the blasts took place.

Following Abrar’s arrest, SP (Nashik rural) Rajvardhan said: “We had provided him protection after he applied for it when some Urdu newspapers carried reports that he is facing threat from extremists.”

The ATS, which is investigating the blasts with the Nashik rural police, refuses comment on Abrar’s handling by the police. “We had not provided him with protection, nor do we know about changing of his whereabouts,” said ATS chief IG KP Raghuvanshi. Abrar is the ninth person to be arrested in the case. He has been remanded in ATS custody till December 22.

Inquiries by The Sunday Express have revealed that since the blasts, Abrar and his wife, Jannatunisa, have constantly been on the move. They were last located at a hotel in Nashik — Hotel Iqbal Kamali in Doodhbazar area. But that too has since changed. Also, Abrar who had severed ties with his businessman father about ten months back and hardly has a source of income, now carries a cellphone which sources say has been provided by the police. His wife does too.

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