NEW DELHI: One name in the high-profile ’50 most wanted’ list of
fugitives allegedly submitted to Pakistan, Wazhul Kamar Khan, is
actually living in Wagle Estate in Thane with his ailing mother, a wife
and five children.
Khan, whose name appears on the list as Khan
Wazhul Kamar, is currently out on bail and claims to be regularly
presenting himself in court as per his bail conditions. He is an
accused in the 2003 Mulund train blast case. The blast had killed 11
people, including four women and two police constables, and injured 82
people.
Times of India (TOI) caught up with Khan at his
residence in Thane on Sunday, May 15, at around 4pm. Last year, Khan
was arrested and booked in five cases. These were the Mulund, Vile
Parle, Ghatkopar-II and Mumbai Central blast cases, which have been
clubbed together in the Pota court, and an Arms Act case. He was
granted bail in three months in all the cases.
When asked about
Khan and his name ending up on the list of fugitives, a senior police
officer said, "He was arrested in the blast cases last year and is
currently out on bail."
Khan claimed he has never gone to
Pakistan. He hid in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh for about a year
from 2003 to 2004, he said. He later started a zari business in
Dharavi, the country’s biggest slum in Mumbai. An Anti-Terrorism Squad
(ATS) team finally arrested him on May 10, 2010 in Kurla and booked him
under the Arms Act for carrying a firearm.
Apart from the
Mulund blast, police had said that Khan was also involved in the Parle,
Mumbai Central and Ghatkopar blasts of 2002 and 2003. Over 120 were
injured and 16 killed in the four terror attacks. After getting bail,
Khan was released from Arthur Road jail on August 18, 2010.
"Since
my release, I have been focusing on establishing my zari business. I
was hiding for years in Dharavi and continued my zari business from
there," Khan told TOI.
He said, "After the blasts I came to
know through television news that the police had described me as one of
the wanted. Scared, I fled to my relatives’ place in UP and returned to
Mumbai a year later." He added, "I am very much here and attend the
court hearings regularly. So how can you say that I am hiding in
Pakistan?"
Khan, who is now 44, said he was born in Kurla and
studied there. In 1998, he shifted to Wagle Estate. He is the 17th
accused to be arrested in the Mulund train blast case.
The
most-wanted list was originally shared with Pakistan during the home
secretary-level talks between the two countries on March 28 and 29,
2011. Nineteen names on the list are members of the Dawood Ibrahim
gang.
Khan told TOI that he had once visited Padga,
Maharashtra, where people were being trained in operating firearms. "I
had visited that place near Bhiwandi. Because of that the police booked
me under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and I had to live a fugitive’s
life for almost seven years," said Khan, a Class X dropout.
Khan
lives in a 10-by-10 sq ft room with his family. "I did have a passport,
but it was misplaced during the tamasha (period he was absconding),"
added Khan. His two daughters have studied in English-medium schools
and are now preparing for higher studies. "I want my children to focus
on studies and am doing everything possible for their future," added
Khan. "My father passed away while I was absconding, but I managed to
attend his funeral. I don’t want this to affect my business and I’m
trying to get discharged from these cases," he said. Online
