Proposal to shift ‘high-risk’ Ansari to Tihar on govt table

Five policemen were killed in the attack,allegedly carried out by motorcycle-borne associates of Ansari. They sprayed bullets at security personnel on duty in front of the consulate office at the crack of dawn.

A court in Kolkata had awarded capital punishment to Ansari. Since then,he has been lodged at a condensed cell at Alipore jail. During investigation,Ansari’s links with some terrorist outfits had come to the fore.

A senior home department official said several cases had been lodged against Ansari in other states. He is often required to be produced before courts in other states. In the past six months,Ansari was produced in courts outside Bengal at least six times,a jail department officer said. “Since there is no case pending against Ansari in West Bengal,there is nothing wrong in approaching court to keep such a terrorist in Tihar jail,” he added.

“Recently the commissioner of Kolkata Police R K Pachnanda wrote to home secretary G D Gautama seeking that Ansari be shifted from Alipore Central Correctional Home to Tihar jail. The Kolkata Police chief had termed Ansari a ‘high risk’ prisoner’,” a home department official said.

Ansari is often taken to Tis Hazari Court by flight under tight security cover. Special Task Force officers of Kolkata Police are deputed for this purpose.

“A lot of risk is involved in shifting Ansari from Alipore Central Correctional Home to Tis Hazari Court and a lot of money is spent for this purpose,” the official said. After receiving the appeal from Kolkata Police,state home department officials sought the views of the state correctional services department.

“We have stated that the jail authorities do not have any objection to Ansari being shifted to Tihar,” Ranveer Kumar,inspector general (correctional services) told The Indian Express.

“The state government is learnt to have has taken up the matter with an advocate. If everything goes according to the plan,a petition before the Tis Hazari Court will be filed soon,” said a correctional services department official.