New Delhi: Delhi's Patiala House Court on Thursday allowed Yasin Bhatkal, a notorious terrorist and one of the founders of the Indian Mujahideen (IM), to have a video conference (VC) meeting with his ailing mother.
Bhatkal had originally sought permission for custody parole to meet his mother in person; however, the court granted the meeting via video conferencing instead.
While passing the order, the Additional Sessions Judge, Dr Hardeep Kaur, directed the concerned Jail Superintendent to allow Yasin Bhatkal to interact with his ailing mother through video conferencing, but only as a one-time allowance.
The court further instructed that Bhatkal must communicate with his mother in Hindi only.
Additionally, for security reasons, the court granted the Jail Superintendent the liberty to record the communication if deemed necessary, said the court.
Advocate MS Khan and other counsel advocates Qausar Khan, Prashant Prakash and Rahul Sahani appeared for Yasin Bhatkal in the matter.
Yasin Bhatkal, a convicted terrorist and one of the founding members of the Indian Mujahideen, has sought custody parole from Delhi's Patiala House Court.
Currently incarcerated in Tihar Jail, Delhi, Bhatkal has requested parole to attend to his ailing mother, who has recently undergone cardiac surgery.
Yasin Bhatkal, who was sentenced to death by a Hyderabad court in 2016 for his involvement in multiple terror attacks, has cited his mother's critical condition following heart surgery as the reason for his request.
In his plea, Bhatkal referenced Para 1203 of the Delhi Prison Rules, 2018, which outlines the circumstances under which custody parole can be granted.
These include, death of a family member, marriage of a family member, serious illness of a family member and any other emergency circumstance subject to the approval of the DIG (Range) of prisons.
Syed Mohammed Ahmed Zarar Siddibappa, commonly known as Yasin Bhatkal (born on 15 January 1983), is a convicted Islamist terrorist and one of the co-founders and leaders of the Indian Mujahideen (IM), a proscribed terrorist organisation.
The Indian Mujahideen was founded around 2005 by Yasin Bhatkal, along with Riyaz Bhatkal and Iqbal Bhatkal (who are brothers, though not related to Yasin), among others.
Under Yasin Bhatkal's leadership, the group has been responsible for several deadly terrorist attacks across India.
Yasin Bhatkal's actions led to the deaths of many civilians, and he was eventually captured in 2013.
He was sentenced to death by a Hyderabad court in 2016 for his role in orchestrating several terrorist attacks. His involvement with the Indian Mujahideen made him one of India's most wanted criminals before his arrest.
—ANI