Remand of Ayodhya attack accused extended to April 17

Faizabad, Apr 3 (UNI) The judicial remand of all five accused in the July 5, 2005, fidayeen attack on Ram JanmaBhoomi complex at Ayodhya, was today extended by 14 days till April 17.

Presently lodged in the Naini (Allahabad) Central Jail, 170 km from Faizabad, the quintet -- Nasim Ahmad, Asif Iqbal, Shakil Ahmad, Mohd Aziz and Dr Irfan -- was brought to the court amid tight security, official sources said.

Hearing the case District Judge R P Shukla extended the judicial remand of the accused quintet by another 14 days. The accused will be produced next before the court on April 17 next, official sources said here.

During the hearing government counsel O P Sinha, informed the judge that the fixing of charges against the accused could not be taken up as the lawyer appointed for their defence -- 'Nyay Mitra' Nalin Kumar Singh -- has refused to contest the case owing to the resistance by the Faizabad Bar Association.

The accused quintet also filed an application before the District Judge requesting that the case be transferred to a court oustide the Faizabad district, as the Faizabad Bar Association had given a call to all lawyers against the defence of the accused.

Following the attack on the Ram Janma Bhoomi, the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) had lodged a case under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 147, 148, 307, 302, 353, 153, 153 A, 295, 120 B and 4.

Shakil and Nasim Ahmad were arrested on July 27, while Asif Iqbal and Mohd Aziz were arrested on July 14 in the Valley by the Jammu and Kashmir Police.

The quartet was accused of providing SIM card and sophisticated weapons to the five terrorists, who stormed the high security Ram Janma Bhoomi complex in Ayodhya on July 5. The fidayeen were, however, liquidated by security persoonel deployed at the site.

The fifth accused, Dr Irfan, a Unani medical practitioner, was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police on July 22 in Saharanpur district.

UNI XC-ARS RSC VJ RS1659