CBI seeks 15-day additional custody of Aseemanand

After interrogating Swami Aseemanand for seven days, the Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday sought an additional 15-day custody of the preacher in connection with 2007 Mecca Masjid blast case.

The central investigation agency intends to further interrogate Aseemanand and take him to other states as part of investigations into the case.

Seeking permission to allow it to further interrogate the swami for an additional 15-days period, the CBI counsel told the XIV Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court, "It is necessary to conduct custodial interrogation of Swami Aseemanand, which would also include him to be taken to other state jurisdictions."

Investigation is in progress in the blast case and is being conducted simultaneously by different teams in different state jurisdictions, he said.

The 59-year-old Aseemanand alias Naba Kumar Sarkar, who is presently under judicial custody till December 14, was arrested by CBI on November 19 from Haridwar in connection with the blast at the historic Mecca Masjid here on May 18, 2007 which claimed nine lives.

The court, earlier on November 26 had remanded the swami in seven-day CBI custody

The CBI counsel submitted that during the period of the swami's elicitation-oriented custodial interrogation, he had initially given vague and evasive answers to questions pertaining to the facts and circumstances of the blast case.

"Besides, Aseemanand complains of a weak memory of those events and therefore taking longer periods to recall and then divulge," the CBI counsel said adding though, the Swami, has disclosed the truth about certain facts and circumstances, and often only to the extent, that he was confronted with statements of other witnesses or documental records.

Further, the agency needed to take the accused to various places and that he had to be confronted with other material witnesses in different parts of the country including Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, New Delhi to elicit the truth in this case, including those that go to the root of the criminal conspiracy and also on whether any further fresh facts about material connected with financing of the terrorist act, the CBI counsel contended.

The defense, however opposed the CBI plea on the ground that there were no valid grounds for custodial interrogation of the swami.

Meanwhile, the magistrate sought to know from the CBI on why it further wanted to interrogate Aseemanand after which the CBI counsel said they would file a case detail file before the court on Thursday. The magistrate then posted the matter for orders to the same date.