Shahabuddin,the alleged mastermind behind the abduction of nurse Bhanwari Devi,surrendered at a CBI court in Jodhpur on Saturday saying he had been out of town and never knew he had been accused. In his application,he claimed he had returned on Friday and read in the newspapers that he was an accused in the case. He told the police that he was being falsely implicated by one of the two men now under judicial custody. His advocate Jagmal Chowdhary said his client was not even aware of the charges against him. My client was out of town on some personal work. after finding in the media that he was named a prime suspect,he surrendered, Chowdhary said. Shahabuddin was remanded in police remand till October 24. The Jodhpur police,which had probed the case before the CBI took over,seized a car which they say belongs to Shahabuddin and which they believe was used to kidnap Devi from Palanpur in Gujarat. Devi went missing on September 1 after allegations that she was in possession of a video recording of then Rajasthan water resources minister Maderna and her in a compromising position. On September 23,a lower court ordered that Madernas name be included in the FIR already registered and charges against Maderna include kidnapping,murder and rape. Last week,Maderna was sacked from the cabinet. Along with the seizure of the car,the police had arrested Sohan Lal Bishnoi and Baldev Ram,the two suspects Shahabuddin was referring to. The police believe say preliminary forensic analysis showed a lock of Devis hair in the car.
