New Delhi, May 18: Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Wednesday said the inclusion of Wazhul Khan”s name on a list of 50 most-wanted fugitives could have been a genuine oversight.
“There was a mistake. We are not trying to blame anyone. We take responsibility for it,” said Chidambaram, and added that Wazhul Khan”s name should be deleted from the list.
Chidambaram further said that the Mumbai police did not inform the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) of Wazhul Khan”s arrest.
“It was also a lapse on the part of the Intelligence Bureau (IB),” he admitted.
The CBI has removed Wazhul Kamar Khan”s name from its most wanted list after it was found that he resides in Mumbai and attends court regularly.
Meanwhile, the government has ordered an inquiry to find out how Khan”s name figured in India”s most wanted list of fugitives handed over to Pakistan.
Chidambaram had earlier on Tuesday said it could be an error, and should not be made into a big issue.
“If you prepare a list of 50 people over a period of time, assume that we are wrong in one name, 49 are right. So, I don”t think (you should) make a big issue of all these things. These are lists prepared over a period of time, and it is possible that there could be an error, or there could be two people with the same name, I don”t know. I will have to go back and check,” he said.
Khan, who was arrested last year for his alleged role in the 2003 Mulund train blasts, reportedly lives in Mumbai suburb Thane”s Waghle Estate with his mother, wife and children, after being let off on bail.
Khan”s name figures at number 41 in the list of 50 fugitives, which includes Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) founder and the mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, Hafiz Saeed, and dreaded terrorist Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi besides others.
The list was prepared in consultation with the Maharashtra Police, National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the CBI.
India had earlier this month released a list of 50 most wanted fugitives hiding in Pakistan, including underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, LeT founder Hafiz Saeed and Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar following the killing of Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
—Agencies