On Thursday (May 13, 2021), an alleged Al-Qaeda member who is a doctor and is being held in Tihar jail asked a Delhi court for permission to help the prison authorities with the Covid-19 cases.
The accused - Sabeel Ahmed said in an application before Special Judge Dharmender Rana on Wednesday that his experience and skills as a medical professional would be beneficial in coping with the surge in Covid-19 cases and the care of inmates in the central prison.
Ahmed, a member of the prohibited militant group Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), was arrested on (February 22, 2021) by Delhi Police's special cell for allegedly supplying logistical and financial support to other AQIS members in India and abroad.
M S Khan, Ahmed's lawyer, requested that the jail superintendent issue a directive authorising the accused to support the jail administration. “It is pertinent to mention herein that the accused is a qualified MBBS doctor with seven years of experience in the treatment of critical cases.
“His experience and expertise being a medical professional would be helpful for dealing with the surge in Covid-19 cases and treatment of inmates in central jail, Tihar,” the application said. “It is, therefore, most respectfully and in the interest of justice prayed that directions may be issued to the jail superintendent for allowing the accused to assist the jail administration in for medical purposes on such terms and conditions as may be deemed fit and proper," it added.
On June 30, 2007, he was also charged with a suicide terror plot at Glasgow Airport (United Kingdom). On August 20, 2020, he was deported from Saudi Arabia and arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Bengaluru in connection with another terror event.
On February 22, this year, the special cell of the Delhi Police took his custody in the current case.