New Delhi: The bail pleas of two suspected Indian Mujahideen (IM) operatives was on Monday rejected by a local court which allowed the plea of Delhi Police seeking 15 days to complete its probe against them in a case of conspiracy to carry out terror strikes here.
District Judge I S Mehta allowed the plea of Special Cell of Delhi Police in which it had sought 15 days to conclude its probe against Tehsin Akhtar and Zia-Ur-Rahman who are now in judicial custody in Hyderabad in connection with February 21, 2013 Dilsukhnagar twin blasts case that claimed 16 lives.
"Since accused persons (Akhtar and Zia-Ur-Rahman) remain in JC (judicial custody) in the present FIR and subsequently they have been arrested in NIA case and their production warrants have already been issued for July 18 and the period of investigation of 90 days is stated to be completing today, in these circumstances, I am satisfied that the same requires further time for investigation," the court said.
"Therefore, the period of investigation is further extended for a period of 15 days i.E. Till July 29...," it said.
During the hearing, public prosecutor Rajiv Mohan told the court that some forensic report were yet to be received by the investigators and documents relating to facts mentioned in the disclosure statements of arrested accused were required to be taken on record.
Mohan also said that both the accused were now in Hyderabad and their production warrant has already been issued for July 18.
Meanwhile, advocate MS Khan, who appeared for both the accused, opposed the plea filed by the police contending that his clients were entitled to bail as the probe agency has not filed charge sheet against them within the stipulated 90 days from the date of their arrest.
Khan also argued the production of the accused was necessary for extension of the period of investigation.
The court, however, allowed the plea of the police and rejected the bail plea of both the accused.
Delhi Police had filed an application before the court for extension of period of investigation by 15 days saying their probe into the case was going on and IM co-founders, Riyaz Bhatkal and Iqbal Bhatkal, who were allegedly in Pakistan, were yet to be arrested.
Akhtar and Zia-Ur-Rehman, alias Waqas, along with other alleged IM operatives, Mohd Maroof, Wakar Azhar and Mohd Saqib Ansari, were arrested by the Special Cell in March.
Maroof, Azhar and Ansari were arrested in connection with an illegal arms factory case here in which a supplementary charge sheet was filed against IM co-founder Yasin Bhatkal and his aide Asadullah Akhtar.
Akhtar was arrested on March 25 near Indo-Nepal border in Darjeeling district of West Bengal while Waqas, a Pakistani national, was arrested outside Ajmer Railway Station on March 22. They are suspected to be involved in several terror attack cases across India.
The police had earlier told the court that according to instructions of Riyaz Bhatkal, the IM operatives had reached Delhi in 2012 to carry out terror strikes but "before they could execute their plans, some of their members were arrested and they had to abort the plan".
