Judicial custody of Shramjivi blast accused extended till Jan 22

Jaunpur, Jan 16 (UNI) A local court here today extended the judicial custody of the three accused involved in the Patna-New Delhi Shramjivi Express bomb blast case till January 22.

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

The accused Obaid-ur-Rehman, Hilal-ud-din and Nafikul appeared before Additional District and Sessions Judge(IV) Arun Kumar Mishra as Justice Rajendra Chandra was on leave today.

The court fixed January 22 as the next hearing date after ACP, Delhi Rajeev Yadav -- the 14th witness in the case, did not appear before the court.

There are 48 witnesses in the case, out of which eleven witnesses have given their testimony. Two witnesses had turned hostile.

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

Three other accused Mohd Sharif alias Sirajuddin of Bangladesh, Mohd Roni and Dr Sayeed are still absconding, while another accused, Ghulam Rajdani alias Pahiya was gunned down in an encounter.

In May 2006, Hilal-ud-din and Nafikul were brought here from Cherallapalli Central Jail, Andhra Pradesh under a warrant, while Obaid-ur-Rehman from Bangladesh, was brought from Murshidabad, West Bengal.

UNI