Telangana biryani shop owner released by Chennai police after no terror links found

Hyderabad: The biryani shop owner from Telangana’s Warangal district who was recently detained at the Chennai airport on suspicion of alleged terror links has been released by the police.

Zakaria was detained by the Chennai Airport police on January 25 while on his way to Colombo, Sri Lanka.

In a press statement, Zakaria expressed his frustration over the detainment. “We were going to Sri Lanka for our organization’s work. There, we were stopped by immigration officials who thought we had some terror links. After conducting a thorough interrogation, they realised their mistake and released me,” Zakaria said.

Zakaria also said he was angered by the way the news of his detainment was covered by local media channels. “They (news channels) broadcast as they wish, branding me as a terrorist,” he said.

Zakaria runs a biriyani eatery named Royal Bawarchi Biryani Point eatery located in Shivanagar underbridge in Warangal. He is also a religious preacher and routinely travels to other countries to attend meetings and events.

“Zakaria is a respected figure in the district and has no criminal record. People here know him very well,”  the circle inspector of Warangal district confirmed.