Two days ahead of first India-Australia Test at Adelaide, authorities have arrested the brother of Aussie batsman Usman Khawaja on Tuesday for allegedly framing a love rival as the author of a terrorist hit list.
Arsakan Khawaja, 36, managed to convince police that his former university colleague Mohamed Kamer Nizamdeen was part of a plot to kill then-Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Subsequently, Sri Lanka-born Nizamdeen, 26, was arrested in August after a purported terror hit list was found in his notebook. He was released only weeks later when police figured out the script did not match his handwriting.
Arsakan was arrested in suburban Sydney on Tuesday and is being questioned over allegations he attempted to pervert justice by making a false document, which listed high-profile targets.
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"What we will be alleging is that he (Nizamdeen) was set up in a planned and calculated manner. Motivated, in part, by a personal grievance," New South Wales assistant commissioner Mick Willing told reporters.
It's revealed that the grievance was over a woman, and that line of enquiry was "part of the process" being investigated.
But he assured that there is no ongoing threat to the community.
Australian police now say they "regret" arresting Nizamdeen.
"In relation to the charging and the subsequent dropping of the charge against the Sri Lankan citizen, we have offered, and have paid his court costs," Willing said.
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"We regret the circumstances which led to him being charged and the time he subsequently spent in custody."
He is reportedly seeking further damages from authorities.
Pakistan-born Australian batsman Usman Khawaja is due to make a return from injury this Thursday against India in the first of a four-match Test series.
(With AFP inputs)
