Houston:
Indian film maker Vijay Kumar, arrested for carrying jihadi literature and brass knuckles at the airport in Houston, has been released on a USD 5,000 bond and ordered not to move out of the city till Friday.
40-year-old Kumar was arrested at George Bush Intercontinental airport on Friday after "acting suspicious," when screeners thought they saw a possible handgun in a scan of his baggage. He was detained by immigration authorities at immigration holding facility for questioning.
A Malad resident in Mumbai, Kumar was released on bail last night after he spent five days at the Harris County Jail.
Kumar's lawyers Roger Jain and Grant Scheiner said that there is a hearing of the case on Friday, where Kumar has to be present.
"As of now, he has been only charged for carrying the weapon. But, the weapon was in the check-in baggage and he did not want to attack anyone. If he had such plans, he would have kept it in the hand luggage," they said.
"Their client is a documentary filmmaker, who made movies on Islamic terrorism and has been researching a lot on the subject. He was invited by the Hindu Congress to participate in a discussion regarding Islamic terrorism and hence he was carrying literature on the subject. There is no other reason for him to carry the material," Jain said.
Jain said he was not sure why he was carrying the material but he believed Kumar was going to speak to the Indian community and educate it on jihad and Islamic fundamentalism.
However, some sources said that Kumar was actually en route to Vancouver, where the Hindu congress is scheduled, but stopped over at Houston to meet some friends.
According to Consul General of India in Houston Sanjiv Arora, "We are in direct contact with the authorities, who granted them consular access that enabled them to meet Vijay Kumar. And, he is doing good and cooperating with the authorities well."
State District Judge David Mendoza on Monday lowered Kumar's bail from USD 50,000 to USD 5,000 after learning more details about the case and that prosecutors were willing to let him plead to time served for unlawfully carrying a weapon in an airport.