The government Monday told the Supreme Court that Bihar engineer Fasih Mehmood was under the detention of the Saudi Arabian authorities.
Additional Solicitor General Gourab Banerjee told the apex court bench headed by Justice P. Sathasivam that Saudi authorities have informed the CBI June 26 that he was under their detention.
The court directed the government to file a report on the status of Fasih within three weeks. Fasih’s wife Nikhat Parveen had filed an application seeking to know the whereabouts of her husband.
Fasih, 35, who hails from a village in Darbhanga district of Bihar, was reportedly arrested in Saudi Arabia May 14 for suspected terror links in India.
Fasih’s wife Nikhat Parveen had moved the apex court alleging that her husband had been picked up by a joint team of the Indian and Saudi officials on May 13 for his purported terror links and his whereabouts were not known.
The Centre had earlier told the apex court that the alleged abduction of the engineer from Bihar in Saudi Arabia has turned into a diplomatic issue with Riyadh “not saying anything.”
The government said Fasih Mohammed was neither in India nor in the custody of any police here and the Ministry of External Affairs has been pursuing his case with its Saudi Arabia’s counterpart.
The CBI had earlier issued a red corner notice for tracking Fasih.
During the earlier hearing on June 6, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the Home Ministry and the Delhi Police had, in a joint response, rejected the allegation that Fasih Mohammed was abducted by the Indian police personnel for custodial interrogatio