**Cuttack: ** After raiding his rented house and quzzing him for over a marathan four hours and even having reportedly taken him into custody, the six-member National Investigation Agency (NIA) from Kolkata branch office freed Akhtar Hussein Khan on the same day (Wednesday), but issued notice asking him to depose on December 4 at the NIA headquarters in New Delhi.
Akhtar, hailing from Nemala area under Salepur sub-division, has been residing in a slum of Samantarapur under Kisan Nagar PS in Cuttack district.
The NIA notice has been issued to him on November 29 (Wednesday) as a witness under Section 160 of the CrPC.
As per the notice, Akhtar has been ‘acquitted’, but has been summoned to New Delhi-based NIA headquarters on December 4 this year to depose before the concerned NIA SP there dealing with the case.
Talking to media, Akhtar informed, “The NIA team neither tortured me mentally or physically. They kept on grilling me on suspicion since morning till lunch break. They tried to elicit information from me regarding my earlier association with a Pakistani national during my Saudi Arabia stay years ago. I answered them that it was like a human relation as we maintain in our native place. The NIA officials also searched by house thoroughly and examined my voter ID, passport, bank pass book and other documents.”
According to the Samantarapur locals, Akhtar has been staying in the rented house for the past four-five years and used to visit Saudi Arabia frequently.
Talking to media on Wednesday, Odisha DGP R.P. Sharma had informed that Akhtar Hussain Khan from Samanatarapur under Kisan Nagar police limits had been rounded up by the NIA for his suspected terror link.
Notably, the six-member NIA team on Wednesday morning hours had raided Akhtar’s house with the help of local police and made marathon interrogation of Akhtar for over four hours for his suspected terror activity link.
While the local police had cordoned off the place and the NIA team was on their mission, all had remained tightlipped during the grilling as it was a serious national security issue.