Judicial custody of Shramjivi blast accused extended till Jan 16

Jaunpur, Jan 9 (UNI) A local court today extended till January 16 the judicial custody of the three terrorists accused in the Patna-New Delhi Shramjivi Express bomb blast case here.

The July 28, 2005 blast near Singramau railway station in Jaunpur had killed at least 14 people and injured 90 others.

The accused Obaid-ur-Rehman, Hilal-ud-din and Nafikul appeared before Additional District and Sessions Judge (III) Rajendra Chandra under tight security.

The court fixed January 16 for the next hearing after ACP, Delhi Rajeev Yadav -- the 14th witness in the case, did not appear before the court. There are 48 witnesses in the case, of which 11 have given their testimony.

Chargesheet against the trio had already been filed under CrPC sections 148, 307, 302 and 120 B, Explosive Substance Act section 3/4, Railway Act section 150, 151 and Foreigners Act section 14.

Two other accused Mohd Sharif alias Sirajuddin of Bangladesh and Mohd Roni are absconding, while Dr Sayeed is yet to be traced.

Another accused Ghulam Rajdani alias Pahiya was killed in a police encounter.

In May last, Hilal-ud-din and Nafikul were brought here from Cherallapalli Central Jail, Andhra Pradesh under a warrant, while Obaid-ur-Rehman, a Bangladeshi, was brought from Murshidabad, West Bengal.

UNI