A team of top police officials from Rajkot has left for New Delhi to interrogate Aftab Ansari alias Farhan Ali, the mastermind behind the terrorist attack on the American Center in Kolkata, in connection with an abduction case registered against him.
Ansari, placed in CBI custody after his deportion from Dubai on Saturday, is allegedly involved in a case of kidnapping of a jeweller's son Bhaskar and his friend Paresh in Rajkot in which a ransom of Rs 20 crore was demanded.
The commissioner of police, Upendrasinh, in Rajkot on Sunday said that a team of Gujarat police had already left for Delhi to question the alleged don but it would be difficult to say whether the abduction case would get a top priority as he was facing a string of criminal cases across the country.
He said that efforts would be made by Gujarat police to bring Ansari in Rajkot for questioning in the abduction case.
Involvement of Ansari in the kidnapping case came to light during the interrogation of suspects arrested in connection with the case. Police had arrested in all 36 persons but the mastermind Rajan alias Asif Razakh had gone underground after the kidnapping of the duo on November 12, 2000.
The victims were, however, released after some personal settlement.
Rajan, who had links with Ansari, was handling terrorist network in India. He was arrested by the police from Kolkata and later placed in the custody of Rajkot police for detailed investigation. Rajan was later killed in a police encounter.
During his interrogation, Rajan had revealed that he was working for Dubai-based Aftab Ansari and was associated with him in terrorist activities in India. Bureau Report