NCP minister denies links with Abu Jundal

A senior Maharashtra minister on Tuesday denied any links with arrested Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist Abu Jundal, and said she is ready to face any probe.

Nationalist Congress Party leader and Minister of State for Education Fauzia Khan said, "I am not aware of who he is, where he is from. If he is a terrorist and is working against the country, it is good news that he has been arrested".

"I will extend all cooperation in the investigation and I am ready to face any such probe," the minister said.

Khan hails from Parbhani district in Marathwada region.

Asked if she was aware that Abu Jundal hailed from Beed, also in Marathwada region, the minister said, "I am not aware of who he is and where he is from."

On reports that the 26/11 handler had stayed in her MLA hostel room, Khan said, "I am only aware that such allegations were made. I don't know anything beyond that."

"This issue was raised in the July 2006 legislature session. I had then given my personal clarification on the issue. Even the then home minister had clarified that there was not an iota of truth in such reports," she said.

The minister's remarks today came after allegations that Jundal allegedly spent a day in a room belonging to Khan, then an MLC, at the old legislators' hostel near the state secretariat in 2009.

"Many people stay at my government accommodation and it is not possible for me to be aware of the credentials of every one of them," she said.

"I have no idea why my name is being dragged into this," she said.