Former ATS officer deposes in court

Mumbai: A former Maharashtra Anti-
Terrorism Squad (ATS) officer today deposed before a special
court in the July 11, 2006 serial train blasts case and
explained how one of the accused, Kamal Ansari, was arrested.
The witness told the court the investigating officers,
acting on specific information, arrested Ansari on July 19,
2006 from Basupati village in Bihar's Madhubani district.
"After arresting Ansari, we took him to his house,
where police recovered a black coloured powder," he said.
According to him, the 36-year-old allegedly made calls
to several wanted accused in the case and operatives of
Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) after the train bombings
in which 187 persons were killed and 800 others injured.
"The calls were intercepted which led to Ansari's
arrest. Revelations made by Ansari enabled the ATS to arrest
other accused," the officer said.
Meanwhile, Ansari appealed to the court to shift him
to the Government-run J J Hospital for treatment as he is
suffering from malaria. The court, however, asked him to
undergo treatment at the medical centre of Arthur Road Jail,
where he is lodged.
The prosecution has till now examined 17 witnesses in
the case, in which 13 accused, all alleged LeT operatives,
have been arrested. The court has asked the media not to
reveal the identity of the witnesses.