Police custody of four accused in Malegaon blast case extended

Mumbai, Dec 1 (UNI) The Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court here today extended police custody of four Malegaon blasts accused till December 6 while judicial custody of three others was extended to December 15.

The Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) sought the extension of police custody of the four, contending that in view of the outcome of the scientific test result of another accused Mohd Zahid Abdul Majid Ansari, arrested on November 22 and in police custody till December 6, had revealed further sensitive materials requiring sustained interrogation of the said accused along with the other four accused.

ATS prayed that considering the sensitivity and magnitude of the case and recovery of the unused explosives, their police custody is to be extended for a further period of six days.

MCOCA judge M R Bhatkar granted the ATS request, and extended the police custody of Salman Farsi Abdul Latif Aimi, Faruq Iqbal Magdumi, Shaikh Mohammad Ali Alam Shaikh and Asif Khan Bashir Junaid till December six.

The Court also further extended the judicial custody of accused --Noorul Huda Samsudoha, Shabir Ahmed Masiullah and Rais Ahmed Razaq Mansuri till December 15.

Meanwhile, some of the accused had complained before the court of not given proper medical attention and some others said that their signatures were obtained on plain papers.

However, defence counsel said police had enough time to interrogate them in police custody and hence there is no need to grant further extension and prayed to put them into judicial custody.

Three blasts on September 8 this year in and around a mosque at Malegaon in Nasik district, had killed 25 and injured 240 others.

The ATS has, so far, arrested eight people in connection with the blasts.

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