After a judge granted him bail earlier, there had been concerns that Lakhvi would be freed, however the police arrested him in another case
A duty magistrate on Tuesday granted a two-day physical remand of alleged mastermind of Mumbai attacks Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi in a kidnapping case.
The police have rearrested Lakhvi, officials said, quashing expectations that the main suspect in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks might soon be freed.
After a judge granted him bail on December 18, there had been concerns that Lakhvi would be freed, possibly as early as Tuesday. However, Tuesday morning, police arrested him in another case, his lawyer Rizwan Abbasi said.
On Tuesday, Lakhvi appeared amid tight security before the court of Additional Magistrate Malik Amanullah. Earlier, police had registered a case against Lakhvi over alleged abduction of a man Anwar Khan in Golra Police Station.
Police Inspector Mohammed Arshad told the court the complainant had alleged that Lakhvi abducted his brother-in-law some six and a half years back to wage “jihad”, the police inspector said.
The judge granted police’s request to investigate the accusation and extended Lakhvi’s detention for two days.
A lawyer for Lakhvi questioned why the complaint had only become known when it appeared that Lakhvi would be allowed to walk free on bail. Abbasi called it a tactic to “deprive my client (Lakhvi) of the fundamental right of liberty.”
“Wherever Anwar went, he did so with his own consent,” the lawyer told the court.
Lakhvi’s counsel added that his client was released due to lack of evidence against him.
Talking to media, Lakhvi’s counsel said police had arrested his client “illegally”, adding that Lakhvi has been detained illegally since the last six years in the Mumbai attacks case. No evidence could be produced in the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) against Lakhvi, and therefore, the court had ordered his release, said Lakhvi’s counsel.
“We will face all cases instituted against my client in the court,” said Lakhvi’s counsel.
Talking to media, Lakhvi said that he “accepts whatever God intends for him”.
