Defence claims meeting with client elusive even 8 days after taking up case

Baig not allowed to meet lawyer?

Defence claims meeting with client elusive even 8 days after taking up case

The defence lawyer of Mirza Himayat Inayat Baig (29), prime accused in the German Bakery blast case, yesterday claimed that the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had not allowed his client to meet him even after eight days of his filing the vakalatnama.

Rehman admitted that he had not approached ATS officers on his own yet to seek permission to meet Baig.
Rehman's decision to fight Baig's case had met with sharp opposition from members of the Pune Bar Association, who shouted slogans outside court and called Rehman an enemy of the nation at the time of the filing of the vakalatnama. But Rehman had maintained in court that although he respected bar associations' appeal to its members to not file the vakalatnama for the German Bakery blast suspect, under Section 303 of the CrPC an accused was entitled to a lawyer. In case an accused is unable to get an advocate, the court under Section 304 of the CrPC appoints a lawyer for him.

Rehman said, "It is hard to believe that Baig would have returned to the city barely seven months after the incident if he were involved in the case."

Advocate Rehman had also said that he would seek police protection if he received threat calls. He now said he had not received any threat calls so far and senior members of the bar association had told him that they were not against him.

Identification parade
The ATS is expected to conduct an identification parade for Baig as officers claimed in the Shivajinagar Court yesterday that they had identified witnesses in the case who might have seen the accused. According to sources, the parade is most likely to be conducted at Yerawada Central Jail before October 4. This development surfaced as the ATS sought magisterial custody of Baig to allow them to conduct his identification parade.

Judicial Magistrate First Class Swaroop S Bose granted the prosecution's demand and remanded Baig in magisterial custody till October 4.

It is learnt that ATS investigations have revealed that Baig was living in Udgir in Marathwada under the false identity of Yusuf Sir. Baig used to run the Global Internet Cafe in Udgir, and the ATS claims he was in touch with the absconding accused in the case on email. The ATS said in court that Baig used multiple email addresses for the purpose.

APP A V Ausekar said that after the completion of identification parade, the public prosecutor will request further police custody for Baig.

There is speculation that the witnesses who were present in the bakery and survived the blast are expected to be part of identification parade.

ATS sources said the date and time for the identification parade will be fixed only after the magistrate concerned grants them his time.

u00a0'Appoint spl public prosecutor from city'

The Pune Bar Association has decided to ask the state to appoint the special public prosecutor in the German Bakery blast from among the 10,000 members of the association.

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