Lawyer: India man in agency 'limbo'

An Indian filmmaker freed from jail after being detained by airport security authorities who found "jihadist" literature in his luggage is now in federal custody, stuck in what his lawyer calls "limbo" between state and federal law enforcement agencies.
Vijay Kumar, 40, is expected to ask that bail be set in his case Thursday .
Kumar surrendered his passport to Harris County officials on Aug. 23 pending the outcome of charges he was carrying a weapon in a prohibited place.
Kumar, a Hindu, was detained for carrying brass knuckles and Islamic jihad literature in his checked baggage at George Bush Intercontinental Airport as he tried to leave Houston Aug. 20. After a weekend in jail, Kumar's bail was reduced from $50,000 to $5,000.
After he was released on bail, Kumar's visa, which allowed him to travel between India and America, was revoked by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Because he had neither a passport nor a visa, he was taken into federal custody, his attorney Grant Scheiner said.
Scheiner said the procedure to get a suspect from federal detention to county jail is difficult, and not guaranteed, because the federal case takes precedence.
If Kumar makes bail, he can fight the state charge to get his passport back, Scheiner said.
Kumar's plight has garnered media interest in India where allegations, which he has rejected, have arisen that he was connected with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a Hindu fundamentalist organization.
31/08/10 Brian Rogers/Houston Chronicle

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Categories: airports Sep 2010, Foreign Sep 2010