Delhi blast: Cops grill kin of surrendered militants in Kishtwar

As investigators struggled for a breakthrough five days after Delhi High Court blast, two men considered close to surrendered militants were detained in Kishtwar in Jammu and Kashmir from where an e-mail purportedly sent by Harkat-ul-Jihadi claiming responsibility was sent.

The number of people detained for questioning rose to 11 after Sadiq Ahmed and Abid Hussain, considered close to former militants Irshad Ahmed and Farooq Ahmed were picked up.

The two former militants have alrady been detained. The investigators probing the blast were vigorously pursuing the email sent from Kishtwar and believed that the other three emails claiming responsibility for last Wednesday's terror attack including the one  purportedly sent by the Indian Mujahideen were pranks.

"Two close persons of surrendered militants have been picked up. They are under sustained interrogation after zeroing in on them", a senior police officer told mediapersons in Jammu.

"Let us see what we get from them", he said. The purported HuJI email has been sent from Kishtwar itself and that is confirmed, he added.

Around 50 people from Kishtwar town, mostly students, have so far been questioned in connection with the Bangladesh-based terror outfit HuJi email claiming responsibility for the blast.

Official sources in New Delhi said investigators have brought the hard disks of the computers of the cyber cafe in Kishtwar to Delhi for forensic examination to find out whether the set time of any one of the computers was changed before sending the em

A particular youth who allegedly sent the email was under the scanner, police said. The call records of the youth were also being examined to find out whether he had received or made call to or from abroad and to or from Delhi before and after the blast which claimed 13 lives.

"We want to be doubly sure before taking any further action," a source said.

Investigators believe that the other three emails, including the one purportedly sent by the IM, were not sent by anyone having any links with the blast and appears to be pranks.

"But we are keeping everything open and nothing could be ruled out," a source said.

A partial bandh was observed in Kishtwar district over the detention of youth from the area. The locals demanded release of the detained persons immediately as they are not involved in the case.

The call for bandh was given in an announcement made by the local Imaam from Kishtwar mosque. In a related development, the J and K Police has shot off letters to Anti-Terrorism Squads of various states urging them not to detain any person from the Valley without informing it.

A top police officer has written to ATS teams of various states asking them to take the state police into confidence before detaining any person from the Valley, according to police sources n Srinagar.

The move came in the wake of detention of two Kashmiri men at Alwar in Rajasthan in connection with the blast. The duo was detained as they apparently resembled the sketches of the suspects released by Delhi police.

The sources said the state police wants to avoid the feeling of unnecessary "harassment" among Kashmiri youths during their travel to other parts of the country.