Indian Mujahideen (IM) co-founder Yasin Bhatkal and close aide Asadullah Akhtar. (File photo)
A court in Mumbai yesterday sent Indian Mujahideen co-founder and terror accused, Yasin Bhatkal and his aide Asadullah Akhtar, to police custody till February 18 in connection with the Mumbai blasts of 2011.
The two were arrested yesterday by the Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) after a Delhi court allowed its plea seeking their custody, saying their custodial interrogation was required to complete the probe.
Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nigam told the court Bhatkal was the prime conspirator in the Mumbai blasts of July 13, 2011. 27 people had died and more than a hundred people had been injured after three bombs went off in Zaveri Bazaar, Opera House and Kabutarkhana in Dadar.
Through his lawyer, Bhatkal said that he would not make any disclosures or confessions. Bhatkal, who was arrested from Nepal in August last year, showed no signs of remorse. Dressed in a light grey striped shirt and light brown trousers, he was seen smiling in court, while his accomplice wore a stern look.
The defence lawyer argued that since this is a supplementary investigation, there should be judicial custody till identification parade, but the application was rejected. The defence also submitted a newspaper that had printed a photo of Akhtar (alias Haddi) with the application.
The defence lawyer has also moved an application saying that the accused were detained illegally and not produced within the mandated 24 hours. The Special Public Prosecutor replied that the order had come on Tuesday and accused was taken from Tihar Jail only on Wednesday. The court is yet to pass an order on this.
The court also allowed the police to handcuff the prisoner after they argued that he could make an attempt to escape.