Judicial custody of high court blast accused extended

New Delhi, March 28 (IANS) A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court Wednesday extended judicial custody of two accused in the 2011 Delhi High Court blast and deferred the hearing for taking cognisance of the charge sheet to next month.

Special NIA Judge H.S. Sharma listed the matter for scrutiny of documents of the chargesheet for April 18 and extended the judicial custody of accused Amir Abbas Dev and Wasim Akram Malik till then.

NIA had filed its chargesheet in the case March 13 against six people including a minor. The charge sheet, filed during in-camera proceedings, named Amir Abbas Dev and Wasim Akram Malik, who were arrested in September, and are in judicial custody.

"Wasim Malik, an avid internet user, is one of those leaderless jehadis who conspired and executed this cowardly and inhuman terrorist action in conspiracy with the terrorists of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen and other outfits," said the NIA, in the charge sheet.

The others named are Malik's brother and alleged Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Junaid Akram Malik, Shakir Hussain Seikh alias Chota Hafiz and Amir Kamal. They are absconding.

Fifteen people were killed and 79 injured in the Sept 7, 2011 blast outside Gate No.5 of the Delhi High Court.

The NIA told the court that investigations were going on in respect of Abu Bilal and Abu Saifullah who reportedly planted the bomb and it could file a supplementary chargesheet later.