Hyderabad: A city court sought a report from authorities on Thursday regarding security arrangements at the prison where Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal and others were lodged.
The court issued the order on a petition by Bhatkal alleging a threat to his life from the police and demanding round-the-clock CCTV surveillance.
Meanwhile, Bhatkal and the other accused Asadullah Akhtar, Tahaseen Akhtar, Zia-ur-Rehman alias Waqas and Aizaz Saeed Shaik appeared before court amid heavy security.
The media was not allowed inside the court hall. Bhatkal walked to the court with a rose flower in his hand, while his shirt pocket was seen bulging.
Some speculated that it was a mobile phone or a small Quran. But jail officials said that Bhatkal was not carrying anything.
In a petition filed before the special court for NIA cases, Bhatkal and the four others accused had requested the court to direct the prison authorities to install CCTV cameras in the high-security cell to maintain round-the-clock surveillance on them. Bhatkal and the others are in Cherlapalli Central Prison now.
