Kolkata: Two Railway employees on January 14 identified in court a ticket-cum-reservation slip of the Chambal Express, which was availed of by Mohammed Idris alias Mohammed Zahid, one of two Pakistani terrorists, involved in the American Centre attack and killed in an encounter at Hazaribagh on January 28 2002.

The Howrah-based employees Shankarpada Chatterjee and Sunil Kumar Biswas of Eastern Railway appeared in the court of 11th bench judge P L Dutta, recording evidence in the American Centre case.

Zahid had travelled from Howrah to Gaya by an AC two-tier on the Express on January 23, 2002, a day after the American Centre attack, according to the railway reservation slip.

Prime accused Aftab Ansari and eight of the nine accused were present in court.

Zahid, a resident of Khanawal in Multan in Pakistan's Punjab province was shot dead by the police in a fierce encounter in Hazaribagh in Jharkhand.

He had, in his dying declaration told the police that he had been directed initially to attack the West Bengal police headquarters, Bhavani Bhavan, at Alipur in South 24 Parganas district.

Zahid, who had entered India through Kathmandu was subsequently directed by Aftab Ansari, to attack the American Centre.

Five policemen had been killed and 20 others had been injured in the attack on the American Centre.

PTI