Santiago:
Top officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) met the Chilean authorities in Santiago to check whether the person in their custody is Abdul Rauf, the man suspected to be a key conspirator in the hijacking of Indian Airlines plane (IC-814) in 1999.
Though the Chilean police said the man in custody is not the same man wanted by the Indian authorities, Chilean prosecutor Emiliano Arias said that based on the interrogation, nothing can be ruled out at this stage. He said he cannot confirm nor deny that the Adbul Rauf is the wanted terrorist.
"The person who was of interest for our authorities here in Chile, as result of our investigation is not the person sought by the Delhi authorities, in India," said Pedro Cuevas, Head of Interpol in Chile.
Rauf was arrested in a fake visa case in January. During investigations, Chilean police found that there was an Interpol notice against a person of the same name, who was involved in the Kandahar hijacking case.
Rauf is reportedly the brother-in-law of Jaish-e-Mohammad leader Masood Azhar, the terrorist who was released by the NDA government as part of the deal struck with the hijackers in 1999.
On Wednesday, speaking about the steps taken by the government to bring back Abdul Rauf from Chile, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said, "Our intelligence agencies have already deputed personnel to go to that country and then make an assessment whether it is the same person who was responsible for the hijacking. If it is so, necessary follow-up action would be initiated."
Earlier, Chile's Ambassador to India Christian Barros said that after proving the identity of the person detained there, the Indian Embassy in Santiago must apply with all documents to seek Abdul Rauf's extradition from there.