Yasin Bhatkal In Judicial Remand Till Oct 17

Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal, on Monday, was sent to judicial remand by a local court till October 17, in connection with the February 21 Dilsuknagar twin blasts case.

Bhatkal was produced by NIA officials before the court of the First Additional Metropolitan Session Judge in Hyderabad amid heavy security. The court sent him to judicial remand till October 17.

The judge asked him his name, and to which place he belongs, to which the accused replied with his name, Yasin Bhatkal, and added that he is a native of Bhatkal in Karnataka.

The judge further wanted to know whether the police had treated him properly, to which he replied with an affirmative nod. Subsequently, Bhatkal was handed over a copy of the remand report.

On September 21, he was granted two days of transit remand by a Delhi court after his arrest by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), and was brought to the city yesterday from Delhi.

Bhatkal has been named as accused number 5 in the Dilsuknagar twin blasts case. Asadullah Akhtar, an alleged close associate of Bhatkal, who was earlier arrested by the NIA, is currently being interrogated after a local court sent him to 15-day custody of the NIA on September 19.

17 people were killed and 100 others injured in the twin blasts that were triggered by powerful IEDs planted near Konark and Venkatadri theatres in Dilsukhnagar, a crowded shopping area in the city, on February 21, 2013. After an initial probe by the Andhra Pradesh police, the NIA had taken over the case.

Bhatkal and Asadullah, suspected of carrying out several blasts across the country, were arrested by security agencies on the Indo-Nepal border last month. (INN)