Delhi HC blast: NIA gets 14-day custody of accused

A Delhi court on Friday allowed the National Investigation Agency to quiz Wasim Akram Malik, a Kashmir resident, for 14 days in its custody in connection with the September 7 Delhi High Court blast case.

Special NIA judge H S Sharma remanded Malik, a student of Unani medicine in Bangladesh, for interrogation by the NIA, termed by the investigators as 'key link' in the conspiracy behind the blast that left 15 people dead and over 70 injured.

During in-camera proceedings, Malik refused to accept legal assistance at the state expense but undertook to cooperate in the investigation, court sources said.

Information about Malik was given by Azhar Ali, an overground worker of Hizbul Mujahideen, who is in Kotbalwal jail in Jammu since 2009, sources said.

Meanwhile, in another turn of events, the special court sent co-accused Abid Hussain to Juvenile Justice Board after his medical reports showed that he was a minor. Hussain had earlier told the court that he was born in 1994 and a major and that his official records did not carry his actual date of birth.

The sources said Hussain also told the judge that he is not sure of the date and month of his birth. Earlier, during the day, the court remanded co-accused Amir Abbas Dev in seven-day NIA custody.