Haneef case: Australia sends police officer to India

Australia has sent a senior police official to India as part of its probe into the case of Mohamed Haneef, detained over the foiled UK bomb plot, as investigators said they might need to hold the Indian doctor for longer to glean through the evidence gathered in a series of raids.

Lawyer for the Gold Coast-based Indian doctor, meanwhile, said he may launch an appeal against the continued detention of his client.

The detained Indian doctor's brother Shoaib also hit out at Australian investigators for holding Haneef without charge and for raising suspicions about his financial transfers of funds.

He said Haneef remitted money from his Queensland Health salary to his family in India to help meet living expenses.

Expanding their probe into the case, an Australian Federal Police (AFP) officer has been sent to the home country of the doctor, Federal Attorney General Philip Ruddock today said.

"I welcome the cooperation that has been provided to the Australian Federal Police (AFP)," ABC quoted him as saying.

Police custody of the Indian doctor was extended till tomorrow by a Brisbane court, which turned down a police appeal for extending his detention for five more days.

Haneef, 27, is in detention for more than a week without charge in connection with the investigation into the failed attacks in London and Glasgow airport.

Ruddock and Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Mick Keelty said the police would ask a magistrate for a further extension of time to detain Haneef, if necessary.

A request for more time would depend on how the investigation proceeded. "They sought an extension of time and that doesn't preclude them seeking further extensions of time," he said, adding, "It depends on whether they believe it is necessary as part of their investigation."

Ruddock said the probe should be comprehensive. "We want the investigations to be carried out professionally and I would think Haneef would want the same outcome. He would want to be exonerated as a result of the inquiries and he would want them to been seen to have been full and complete".

Keelty said police were applying the law as it was available to them."We asked for a period of time that we thought was reasonable in terms of the amount of work that we envisage needs to be done".

"If it's required we will go back to the magistrate. What we're doing here is applying the law that we operate under in these circumstances," Keetly added.

Meanwhile, a report in 'The Australian' newspaper said that senior police officials were concerned about the investigative team's failure to conduct a "full forensic" of Haneef's Gold Coast unit before Sunday.

The AFP allowed managers of the Telesto complex, where Haneef lives, to enter and clean his unit on Thursday "" two days after the initial raid, but before more thorough searches and forensic examinations were conducted at the weekend.

Meryl Bosher, who manages the complex with her husband Steve, said last night that they had washed, dried and put away dirty dishes, and removed bread and fruit that had been left out on the counter.