Burdwan blast: NIA gets custody of Myanmarese militant

A city court Thursday sent Myanmar national Khalid Mohammed and two Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) militants to eight days in the NIA's custody in connection with the Oct 2 Burdwan blast.

Khalid Mohammed alias Kaleed, belonging to the Rohingiya Solidarity Organisation and having links with Bangladesh-based terrorist groups, was arrested Monday from Hyderabad by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and brought to Kolkata earlier Thursday.

According to the NIA, Khalid is an expert in explosives and underwent training conducted by Tehreek-e-Azadi-Arakan with trainers from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.

Eight accused, including Khalid, JMB commander and blast mastermind Sajid and JMB militant Amjad Sheikh, were presented before the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Md. Mumtaz Khan.

"Khalid along with blast mastermind Sajid alias Sheikh Rahamatullah and Amjad Sheikh have been sent to NIA custody for eight days," said NIA counsel Shyamal Ghosh.

The other five accused -- Razia Bibi, Alima Bibi, Abdul Hakim, Zia-ul-Haque and Hashem Mollah -- were sent to judicial custody till Dec 5.

Two suspected JMB members died in the accidental blast that occurred in a house in Burdwan district's Khagragarh area.