NIA brings High Court blast accused to Delhi

Jammu/New Delhi, Sep 21 (PTI) The National Investigation
Agency (NIA) Wednesday brought all the three accused --
arrested in connection with sending an email claiming
responsibility for the High Court blast -- to Delhi where they
are likely to be extensively questioned.
The three -- Shariq Ahmed, Abid Hussain and Amir Abbas
Dev -- were brought to the national capial by a NIA team led
by DIG Mukesh Singh and are likely to be produced before a
magistrate for further remand.
The team was accompanied by Deputy Inspector General of
Police (Doda) Muneesh Singh of north Indian state Jammu and
Kashmir Police who will be assisting the NIA in its probe,
official sources said.
While Dev, shown arrested by NIA on September 16, was
remanded to police custody on seven days, the other two --
Shariq and Hussain -- were arrested on September 13 and have
been sent to police custody for 10 days.
The three were taken on a transit remand after which they
would be produced before a magistrate in Delhi during which
NIA would seek the court's permission for carrying out
scientific tests on them and questioning them.
The probe had hit a road block when Dev retracted his
earlier statement in which he had admitted to his role in the
terror attack.
Dev has withdrawn his earlier "detailed statement" about
his role in the blast, sources said, adding police was facing
difficulty in corroborating his earlier statement as there
were many loopholes.
The sources said Dev has now denied any connection with
the blast. He is being questioned at length for his alleged
role in sending an e-mail barely two hours after the September
7 blast.
Dev is accused of handing over the draft mail three days
before the blast to two high school students.He had earlier
told the investigators that an e-mail claiming responsibility
on behalf of HuJI was sent on his directions, the sources
said.
He is alleged to have drafted the mail and then handed it
over to the two boys with the instruction that it was to be
mailed to media houses immediately after they hear about the
blasts in the national capital.
The two boys were the first to have been arrested by the
police for sending the mail.
As sleuths were still struggling for a breakthrough, the
sources said there was a possibility that the two could be
part of a larger conspiracy behind the terror strike.
They have been booked under IPC Sections 120-B (criminal
conspiracy), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups
on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence,
language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of
harmony) and 134-A (attack on government servant on duty).
"We own responsibility of the blast at the High Court,
Delhi. Our demand is that Afzal Guru’s death sentence should
be repealed immediately as we would target major High Courts
and the Supreme Court of India," the terror mail had said.
The NIA has announced a reward money from Rs 10 lakh for
anybody giving information about the perpetrators of the
blast.