Jail officials deny Yasin Bhatkal used mobile to call his wife
Reports say Bhatkal called up his wife using a cell phone from inside the jail and told her that he would get out of the jail soon.
Telangana prison officials on Saturday denied reports that jailed Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative Yasin Bhatkal had called his wife using a mobile phone from the Cherlapalli jail. According to reports, Bhatkal called up his wife using a cell phone from inside the jail and told her that he would get out of the jail soon with help from friends from Damascus.
"The allegation that Bhatkal had called his wife with a mobile phone from inside the Cherlapalli prison is baseless, factless and there is no truth...it is a false allegation," Telangana Prisons DIG A Narasimha told reporters. "The question of bringing in a cell phone inside the prison does not arise as thorough checks are conducted before anyone enters the premises, Narasimha claimed. Bhatkal, who is one of the accused in the February 2013 Dilsukhnagar twin blasts case, is lodged in the Cherlapalli Central Prison.
Following court orders, Bhatkal was granted telephone facility from February this year, wherein prisoners are allowed to speak to their family members twice a week, the DIG prisons said. "Since Bhatkal availed the landline telephone facility, he spoke on two numbers, to his mother and wife, on 27 occasions. The phone facility is only for five minutes and it automatically gets disconnected after completion of the specified time," Narasimha added. The entire conversations have been recorded and the same have been handed over to the investigating and security agencies.
However, Bhatkal may have spoken to his family members during transit (while attending court proceedings in the case) and that needs to be ascertained. Security around the Cherlapalli prison will be enhanced with deployment of additional forces, the DIG said while adding they carried out surprise checks on the jail premises, but no cell phone was found. Meanwhile, an intelligence officer said the NIA, which is probing the case, is taking lot of precautions whenever Bhatkal and other accused are taken to court in connection with the case.