Indian arrested with jehadi literature in US

NEW YORK - An Indian national has been arrested at Houston airport for carrying jehadi literature and brass knuckles, media reports said.

Vijay Kumar, 40, was arrested Friday at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport after security officials searched his luggage when they noticed him behaving strangely, New York Post reported Monday. Kumar, a documentary filmmaker, said he is from Mumbai.

Officers found books and diagrams on espionage, information on US military weaponry, publications mentioning “jehad” and “infidels”, brass knuckles and at least $8,000 in US bills.

A swab initially detected residue from a homemade explosive on Kumar’s bag but two subsequent tests came back negative, KPRC reported.

Kumar told investigators he was in Houston for an “Islamic seminar”. He was being held on a $50,000 bond.

However, a judge Monday lowered the bail for Kumar, Houston Chronicle said.

District Judge David Mendoza lowered Kumar’s bail from $50,000 to $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 at an airport.

Kumar was in Houston to lecture a Hindu organisation about Islamic fundamentalism and the books in his luggage were educational tools, authorities and his lawyer said.

Attorneys for Kumar said he has surrendered his passport. He does not want a criminal record to interfere next time he visits the US, his attorney Grant Scheiner said.

“I think that everybody realised that he is not a threat. He’s a peaceful man,” Scheiner said. “He was here to visit the Hindu Congress of America, to deliver a lecture. It was about an interfaith discussion between Hindus and Muslims about the harms of terrorism.”

Scheiner said Kumar carries the brass knuckles for protection in India.