Biotruck arrested in India - needs help!

[K17LER]

I received the text below in an e-mail today. It is absolutely genuine. I know Andy, I met him at a Royal Geographical Society expedition planning seminar in 2008. I was planning my Overland to Oz trip(www.ozrally.org) and he was planning this Bio-truck expedition.

Despite his green campaigning Andy is an out and out Petrolhead and has been organising expeditions like this round the world for 15 years; including the now well known "Grease to Greece" event....driving old bangers to Greece powered by chip fat. He loves cars and driving but cares deeply about the environment too and does a lot of research into alternative fuels. The idea that he could be involved in any kind of terrorist activity is frankly ridiculous! The text below explains but in brief he was arrested in India for carrying a Satelite Phone. He's been released on bail but can not leave the country until after the trial and there is no time limit on when that could be so he is stuck!

I was stopped by corrupt police in India who falsely accused us of speeding and not wearing seat belts to try and extract money from us. They also took a good look in the car and I'm sure if I could have afforded to be carrying a Sat-phone then this could easily have been me. I'm not sure what good sending the e-mail he's written below to the various authorities will do but it's worth a go, even if it only speeds things up for him. I doubt he is getting much help from the British Embassy, they were no help to me when I was effectively being held to ransom by my tour company in China!

Anyway, over to Andy
http://www.biotruckexpedition.com/

I’m launching this email petition and hoping that everyone that’s been so supportive already, will help by sending the email below to the Indian High Commissioners in London and in Rome, as well as to the only email address I could find for the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Please add your name and home town at the bottom and of course you can edit the contents as you see fit. Tell your friends about it (facebook it, tweet it, talk about it at work...) and invite them to send emails too. Hopefully if enough people send it, it will have an impact.

This is my last resort and I hope it will motivate the officer to complete his investigation. There is no legal time limit. It’s already been 6 weeks, and until they do I am trapped in India.

Thanks for your help.

To: [e-mail]; [e-mail]; [e-mail]
Subject: The Case of Andrea Pagnacco (aka Andy Pag).

For the attention of:
Mr P. Chiemdambaram, The Indian Minister of Home Affairs
Mr. Nalin Surie, The Indian High Commissioner in London,
And the Indian Ambassador in Rome

Sirs

Andrea Pagnacco (publicly known as Andy Pag) was arrested for possession of a satellite phone in Pushkar and charged under anti-terrorism laws. After 7 days in prison he was released on bail after the judge criticised police for their approach and ruled there was no evidence to suggest he was a national security risk.

Now after 6 weeks, the police have still not submitted a chargesheet to the court, missing the dates of 5 hearings set by the judge. Until they do, Mr Pagnacco is held on bail unable to leave India.

Mr Pagnacco provided the final piece of evidence to Investigating Officer Superintendent Tak of Ajmer Police, Rajasthan 3 weeks ago; an email correspondence from the satellite phone operator confirming his phone has not been used in India. Its authenticity is simple to confirm with a phone call, fax or email.

However SP Tak has publicly stated that he is too busy with local elections. This is surprising considering that he drafted in over 100 officers for the investigation on the day of arrest, but now has no manpower to conclude it.

Please can you request that the Ministry of Home Affairs confirm with Additional Superintendent Tak of Ajmer Police (Mobile [phone], Office [phone]) that this investigation is proceeding at an appropriate pace.

Thank you for your understanding and help in this matter.