New Delhi: The man detained by Chilean authorities on an Interpol Red Corner Notice was not involved in the 1999 hijacking of Air India flight IC-814. Government sources have told CNN-IBN that the Pakistani man identified as Abdul Rauf detained in Chile is not Mufti Abdul Rauf, named as one of the hijack conspirator in a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chargesheet in connection with the case.
Sources said that the Abdul Rauf has been arrested for traveling on fake visa. Home Ministry sources said that Rauf's identity was based on inputs from foreign agencies.
Pakistan media had on Wednesday claimed that Mufti Abdul Rauf was in Rawalpindi.
They said the detained man has nothing to do with Jaish-e- Mohammad (JeM) or any other Pakistani militant group and India's CBI would soon come to the "same conclusion".
Chilean authorities had informed the CBI through Interpol on April 11 that they had arrested a Pakistani national, Abdul Rauf, who matched the description of the person chargesheeted by the CBI in the hijacking of Air India flight IC-814.
Interpol had issued a Red Corner Notice for JeM leader Mufti Abdul Rauf in 2000 and a cash award of Rs 10 lakh was announced for information leading to his arrest.
According to the Interpol notice, Rauf allegedly sent Rs 78,000 twice to the hijackers of flight IC-814.
He rented a flat in Sabzi Mandi area of Dhaka for the hijackers to stay and attended a few meetings to fine-tune the operation.
During the hijacking, Rauf was constantly getting updates from co-accused Abdul Latif, an Indian national who has been arrested by the CBI.
Three other accomplices of Rauf who have been arrested are Pakistani nationals Mohammad Rehan and Mohammed Iqbal and Yusuf Nepali, a Nepalese national, and they are being tried in India.
According to the Red Corner Notice issued by Interpol, Rauf is a resident of 6-B-1260/l08, Kauser Colony, Model Town in Bahawalpur district. Rauf has two other addresses in Karachi.
(With additional information from PTI)
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