Accused sent to NIA custody

Another, in absence of lawyer to defend him, sent to judicial custody for a day

Accused sent to NIA custody

Another, in absence of lawyer to defend him, sent to judicial custody for a day

Arrested in connection with the September 7 Delhi High Court blast, a city court on Thursday remanded Abid Hussain to the custody of National Investigation Agency (NIA) till October 5. Another accused, Amir Abbas Dev, has been sent to judicial custody till tomorrow.

Held: Amir Abbas, arrested in connection with the blast, after being
produced at Patiala House court in New Delhi on Thursday. pic/Imtiyaz Khan

Following a request by NIA in the morning for in-camera proceedings, the special judge asked journalists to vacate the courtroom. "Only those whom I allow will stand in the court. Other, please vacate the court," said the judge.

During separate proceedings, NIA, in its application seeking interrogation of the accused, stated, "He (Dev) is one of the terrorists who conducted bomb blast between gate number 4 and 5 of the Delhi High Court. He is one of the conspirators and needs to be interrogated thoroughly to trace out the complexity in this terrorist crime. Other associates are also involved in this crime and conspiracy,"

Dev, who is pursuing BA through correspondence at Maulana Azad Urdu University in Hyderabad, not only sent the emails but also took part in the blast, the agency said in its application. As there was no lawyer to defend Dev, he was sent to judicial custody.

The NIA team also sought custodial interrogation of Hussain, who was produced around noon before District Judge H S Sharma. The team sought custodial interrogation of Hussain, saying they have to unearth the entire conspiracy that led to the blast.

Mail trail
The terror email sent earlier stated, "We own the responsibility of the blast. Our demand is that Afzal Guru's death sentence be repealed immediately, as we would target major high courts and the Supreme Court of India."

The NIA has announced reward of Rs 10 lakh for anybody who gives information about the perpetrators of the blast in which 15 people were killed and over 70 were injured. Hussain and Dev, who were brought to Delhi yesterday following their arrest at Kishtwar in Jammu and Kashmir, had allegedly sent emails to media houses, claiming responsibility for the blast on behalf of the banned terror outfit Harkat ul-Jihad al-Islami (HuJI).

Hussain is said to be a student of Islamia Faridia Higher Secondary School at Kishtwar and has been booked for criminal conspiracy for his alleged role. Third accused Shariq Ahmed, who was also arrested in connection with the case, has so far not been produced in the court.