VASCO: The Anti-Terrorism Squad of Goa police picked up a suspect from the Vasco Railway Station on Monday. The suspect person has been identified as one Sameer Sardana (47), a native of Dehradun, Uttarkhand. The suspect had arrived in Goa in January and was staying at the railway dormitory room by booking the resting room on several occasions in the last two weeks. After detaining the suspect, the ATS officials handed him over to the Vasco Railway Police. Sardana was later booked under Section 41 of CrPC.
While interrogating the suspect, sources at the Vasco police informed that the Goa ATS officials recovered five passports from his possession. During interrogation the suspect informed the ATS officials that he had lost his passport on many occasions and had obtained a fresh one against the lost one.
Sources also said that the suspect told the ATS officials he could not even remember the password of his laptop despite using it a day prior to his arrest by the Vasco Railway Police. Finding something fishy the ATS officials sent the laptop to the cyber cell of the Goa Police in order to access into the data of the laptop.
After interrogating the suspect for a full day the ATS officials handed Sardana over to the Vasco Railway Police who produced him before JMFC Vasco. A seven days remand has been issued to the police.
The ATS team, led by SP Priyanka Kashyap and PI Nilesh Rane, would continue their interrogation tomorrow.
When Herald asked for details, SP Priyanka Kashyap, in-charge of the Anti-Terrorist Squad Goa, said: “There is nothing to worry. The inquiry is in the preliminary stage. As of now there is no confirmation on the person having any terror links. We will disclose the details once the inquiry gets over.”
“He has been arrested by the Vasco Railway Police under suspicion and as we are supposed to interrogate him further. The Vasco Railway Police will take further custody of the suspect person and we are jointly interrogating him,” she added while refusing to disclose any details.
Although the senior ATS officials interrogating the suspect since morning refused to give any details, Herald investigations, however, learnt that the Vasco railway police noticed the suspect with a laptop at platform number 1 on several occasions during the last two weeks. “Even we felt something strange as the person was seen occupying a seat beside a charging plug point and operating his laptop continuously. He was even not talking to anyone on the platform. When we asked him about his presence at the station, he only informed that he is waiting for someone and would leave soon,” a policeman told Herald.
Interestingly inquiries with the Vasco Railway officials confirmed that the suspect Sardana had booked the railway dormitory room on three occasions. As per sources, the first booking was made from 8 pm of January 22, 2016 to 8 am of January 23, 2016. After few days Sardana was back on the station again booked a bed in the dormitory from 8 pm of January 29, 2016 to 8 am of January 30, 2016.
“His behaviour was quite strange as he was seen arguing with the railway staff on several occasions when questioned about his presence at the platform,” said a source under the condition of anonymity.
“On Saturday evening (Jan 30), around 4.30 pm one of our staff noticed him again at the Vasco railway station platform and asked him to leave the station as he was not having a valid railway or platform ticket. However, instead of leaving the station he started arguing with the staff. He wanted desperately to use his laptop to surf the Internet by using the charging point at the platform. On Saturday he told me that it is just a matter of few hours since he has dormitory booking on the same evening from 8 pm till 8 am of Sunday. But he was picked up by ATS officials,” the official from Vasco Railway Station added.
Sources at the Vasco Railway Station also informed that “Since one requires a confirmed railway ticket for booking a retiring room at the station, the suspected person had booked a railway ticket from Londa to Vasco online for 12 hours (from January 31 evening to February 1 morning) and obtained permission for retiring. It was also informed by the sources that the said suspect had booked various railway reservations on many occasions from different railway stations in Karnataka to Vasco and Margao railway station.
