Pune blast accused, aide sent to police custod

A Nashik court remanded to police custody Himayat Baig, prime accused in the Pune German Bakery blast case, and his aide Shaikh Lalbaba Mohammed Hussain alias Bilal.

Baig and Bilal were produced before Chief Judicial Magistrate K D Boche who sent them to police remand for 11 and four days respectively, Public Prosecutor Ajay Misar told reporters.

The prosecution sought further custody of the duo saying that since both Baig and Bilal had plotted the Pune blasts, the Anti-Terrorism Squad wanted to investigate them together. Both the accused were brought to Nashik court amid tight security on Thursday afternoon.

Baig, who was arrested on September 7 in Pune, and Bilal, arrested on the same day in Nashik's Satpur locality, had earlier been remanded to judicial custody till October 15.

Earlier, the ATS carried out an identification parade of the duo, Misar said. While Baig is suspected to be the mastermind behind the attack, Bilal is accused of surveying the targets. Seventeen people were killed and 57 were injured in the blast at the German Bakery on February 13 this year.