Burdwan blast: Judicial custody of all accused extended

A court here Friday extended, till March 27, the judicial custody of all 17 accused including Mufazzal Haque - the last of the arrested culprits - in the sensational Burdwan blast case.

Haque alias Laden was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Feb 3 from his native village Mukimnagar in West Bengal's Murshidabad district.

All the 17 accused were presented before the court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Biswarup Seth on the expiry of their respective juridical custody. On the plea by the prosecution, the court remanded them to further judicial custody for 14 days till March 27.

The accidental blast took place at a house in Khagragarh in Burdwan district Oct 2 killing two Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, Bangladesh (JMB) militants and injuring another.

The NIA has claimed its investigation so far showed that the militant outfit had established its network in many districts -- particularly in Murshidabad, Nadia, Malda, Birbhum and Burdwan in Bengal, Barpeta in Assam, and Sahibganj and Pakur in Jharkhand.

As many 16 people suspected to be involved in the case are absconding.

The NIA took over the probe a few days after the explosion.