Judicial Magistrate (first class) S S Bose granted police custody to Siddiqui till May 21.
Meanwhile, the ATS also claimed that Siddiqui has told them about the routes he took from his residence to reach Dagdusheth Ganpati Temple. He also reportedly showed the ATS the spot at a flower vendor’s stall near the temple where he had allegedly placed the explosives.
Siddiqui was arrested by Delhi police for his alleged involvement in terror activities. The Pune unit of ATS arrested him on May 2 for allegedly conducting a recce of the Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati Temple and attempting to blow it up on February 13, 2010.
On Friday, the ATS team led by Assistant Commissioner Samad Shaikh produced Siddiqui before the magistrate court under heavy security cover, seeking an extension of his custody for further investigation. The ATS submitted before the court that they have recorded the statements of the owner of the house where he lived in Pune. ATS told the court that it was learnt that Siddiqui used to stay out till late night.
Investigation revealed that he resided at the place on rent, but left it all of a sudden. Police have recovered his clothes and other items from the house. ATS also submitted that they have recorded the statements of witnesses about his alleged recce at a flower vendor near the temple.
BRING home the world and make the world feel at home. Middle Eastern tourist-hub Dubai is pouring out dirhams and dollars to affirm both ideas.
The rich and the mighty can soon shop for their favourite country on the luxury resort islands carved out to resemble a world map. In another part of the city, replicas of the Taj Mahal and Eiffel Tower pack in both Agra’s mystique and the charm of Paris on to one campus. The city has literally brought the world to its doorstep.
With almost feverish determination, Dubai’s construction industry aims to eventually make the emirate many things for many people, and ensure that a Scandinavian doesn’t miss his snow trek, an Indian doesn’t pine for cricket and the Brits don’t brood over Tim Henman.
Henman picked an unlikely wild card here at age 31 for the city’s annual tennis gala—the Dubai Open 2006. His doting British supporters rolled their eyes at a gaggle of girls squealing for his opponent Feliciano Lopez—the latest Spanish hunk. They got on with the routine soon after—speaking sparingly, with a dash of dour nostalgia for Henman who dumped Lopez here on the very day he lost the British #1 spot to Andy Murray after six long years. If it weren’t for the nachos, Dubai could have passed off as Wimbledon.
A day earlier, Russian and Belgian watchers had formed cliques and engaged in a little flag-fight as Maria Sharapova and Justine Henin Hardenne bartered distinct backhands, and the single-handed Belgian denied the Russian stunner her first Dubai title. The two profusely thanked their respective guilds for the welcome change from the lonely destinations that tennis players normally trudge to around the year.
Dubai is consciously widening its tourism portfolio and feeding on the idea of expat patriotism, expressed more eloquently on sports fields than through any other medium.
Sania Mirza brings thousands of Indians out to the Aviation stadium after a stopover at the speciality Punjabi restaurant nearby for authentic rajma-chawal. Nearby, at the Irish Cafe, hundreds gather every evening to down beer and gorge on the versatile ‘pratai’ potato as Ireland rally and then roast the Welsh in Six-Nations rugby, which unfolds on a giant television.
Unlike the Brits, the Irish are less inclined to agonise over Lansdowne Road, the world’s oldest international rugby venue that they left behind in Dublin. Besides, Dubai has mimicked the ambience.
But ranking as Dubai’s most futuristic project devoted to sport is Ski Dubai, a sunny mountain ski dome, housed at the equally grand Mall of the Emirates. The Arctic experience in the middle of the desert encapsulates both Dubai’s attention to detail and its scope of ambition. A huge revolving ski slope around an artificial mountain range, dragons carved out of ice, igloos, a stunt-park for snowboarders and a chairlift for the beginners, topped off with hot cocoa on the rooftop. With temperatures around -2° C, it’s the ultimate polar experience. And like Simone Mofatt, a Norwegian instructor says, ‘‘The snow crunches under your feet like back home.’’
Dubai has been quick to snap the best ideas from around the world and drop kick them into the desert. And while the big tournaments are occasions, the bigger sport stars are hardly incidental. Beckham, Owen and nine others own properties on Palm Islands, and Manchester United is set to open its academy at the Dubai Sports City by 2007. Andre Agassi skips the Las Vegas ATP, a three-minute drive from his home, and flies half-way around the world to play tennis here, and Maria Sharapova can’t stop talking about Burj Al Arab, the world’s only seven-star hotel-palace. Ernie Els, Colin Montgomerie and Nick Faldo have lined up to design golf courses, while the Duty Free tennis tournament director Salah Talak doesn’t sound outrageous when he says, ‘‘If there’s a fifth Grand Slam, I want Dubai to be the one.’’
The demographics support the expansion: roughly 80 per cent of Dubai’s residents are foreigners. The five million tourists who troop into Dubai now are expected to increase to 15 million by 2010, and the wonder city wants to cater to everyone. AB Rehmann, a city guide and master of 13 languages, adds an interesting historical perspective to how Dubai quickly transited from pearl fishing to trading to oil and now tourism. Ironically, it was Sharjah, a neighbouring laid-back emirate, which first pounced on the potential of sports tourism with cricket. ‘‘Sharjah flourished because of this expat sense of patriotism where outnumbered Pakistan supporters tried to out-scream 10 times the number of Indians,’’ he says.
And we thought it was all about Javed Miandad hitting Chetan Sharma for a last-ball six.
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