Bengal blast: NIA to seek custody of accused

Six people arrested in connection with the Oct 2 blast in West Bengal's Burdwan district will be presented before a special NIA court here Monday and the central probe agency will seek their custody.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which was probing the case before the the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over, arrested the six people, who include two women, in connection with the case.

While five of them are in custody of police, the sixth one, injured in the explosion, is undergoing treatment at a city hospital.

"The accused will be presented before the NIA special court Monday and NIA will seek further police custody of the arrested people for questioning," a NIA officer said.

Following an application by the agency Saturday, a Burdwan court transferred the case to a special NIA court in Kolkata.

Probing the explosion at a house in Khagragarh area in which two suspected Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen militants were killed, the NIA in a night-long operation seized several crucial objects from the scene.

An NIA team led by Inspector General S.K. Singh along with a team of explosive experts from Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Kolkata, visited the blast site and seized certain objects.

The NIA officers Sunday visited the Simulia Madarsa, where the accused were believed to have been radicalised.

Besides the six arrested in Bengal, the Special Branch of Assam Police has arrested six youths from Barpeta district for their alleged involvement in the case.

NIA teams are camping in Burdwan, Kolkata, Nadia and some parts of Assam in connection with the investigation.

A number of key players in the conspiracy have been identified and police as well as intelligence agencies have been alerted to look-out for them.