FBI to question detained 'Indians'

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, SEPT. 16. The two men ``believed to be from India'' who were detained by authorities in Texas on Wednesday have been taken to New York for further questioning by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Authorities said Mr. Ayub Ali Khan and Mr. Mohammad Jaweed Azmath will be quizzed by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force. The two were pulled off an Amtrak train on suspicion as they did not have valid papers on them.

What apparently led the Immigration and Naturalisation Service to call in the FBI was the kind of material apparently found on the two persons. They were found carrying box cutters - similar to the ones used in Tuesday's hijackings - hair dye and between $ 5000 and $ 10,000 in cash.

On Tuesday, Mr. Khan and Mr. Azmath had boarded a flight in New Jersey bound for San Antonio, Texas. In the aftermath of the terror hits, the plane was diverted and landed in St.Louis and grounded thereafter. The two took a train but were pulled out near Fort Worth in the course of a regular check for narcotics.

Texas authorities maintained that the two did not have valid identification papers although there were reports of one of them producing two fake passports. The detained men told the authorities that they were from India, but independent confirmation of this has not been possible.

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Section  : International
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