Police move court, seek time to conclude probe against IM men

New Delhi, July 13: Delhi Police has moved a court here seeking 15 days time to conclude its probe against suspected Indian Mujahideen operatives Tehsin Akhtar and Zia-Ur-Rahman, arrested in a case of conspiracy to carry out terror strikes here.

Special Cell of Delhi Police filed an application before the court saying their probe into the case was going on and IM co-founders, Riyaz Bhatkal and Iqbal Bhatkal, who were allegedly in Pakistan, were yet to be arrested.

"Co-accused Riyaz Bhatkal, Iqbal Bhatkal, Faiyaz Kagzi (top LeT operative) and others are still at large and efforts are being made to arrest them as early as possible. With the arrests of these absconders, the missing links in conspiracy are likely to be established which require that period of the investigation and judicial custody of these accused persons be extended," the police said.

Advocate M S Khan, who appeared for both Akhtar and Waqas, opposed the application filed by police and moved a bail plea for his clients. The court has now fixed the matter for hearing tomorrow and asked the special cell to respond to the bail plea of both the accused.

The police, in its plea, said that both the accused were arrested on April 15 in connection with this case and the evidence collected so far has consumed 90 days stipulated period to file the charge sheet against them.

Akhtar and Waqas, along with other alleged IM operatives, Mohd Maroof, Wakar Azhar and Mohd Saqib Ansari, were arrested by the special cell in March. Maroof, Azhar and Ansari were arrested in connection with an illegal arms factory case here in which a supplementary charge sheet was filed against IM co-founder Yasin Bhatkal and his aide Asadullah Akhtar.

Akhtar was arrested on March 25 near Indo-Nepal border in Darjeeling district of West Bengal while Waqas, a Pakistani national, was arrested outside Ajmer Railway Station on March 22. They are suspected to be involved in several terror attack cases across India.

The police had earlier told the court that according to instructions of Riyaz Bhatkal, the IM operatives had reached Delhi in 2012 to carry out terror strikes but "before they could execute their plans, some of their members were arrested so they had to abort the plan".

PTI