LeT suspect's police custody extended till Jan 15

A court here Friday extended the police custody of a suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative till Jan 15 after the police said it was required for interrogating him.

Additional Sessions Judge Daya Prakash allowed the police plea for the custody of Md. Rashid, arrested from Nuh sub-division of Mewat district in Haryana Dec 16 night.

His name surfaced after police interrogated Md. Shahid, another LeT suspect arrested by the special cell of the Delhi Police Dec 7 from Choti Mewli village in the same district. Both were imams at a village mosque.

Shahid is at present in judicial custody.

"It is submitted that further examination of accused Rashid is required for confronting him with the call details/conversations and the facts that have emerged after the examination of witnesses," the police told the court.

The police informed court Rashid, already in police custody from Jan 3, would be taken to Haryana and Rajasthan to apprehend his associates.

The police request was to unearth the conspiracy hatched by him and his associates, planning to carry out terror strikes.

During investigation, it was revealed the duo was in touch with Pakistan-based LeT commander Javed Baluchi over mobile phones.

Police have booked them under various charges dealing with criminal conspiracy and terrorism.

However, M.S. Khan, counsel for both the accused, opposed the plea.

Claiming that Delhi Police created a case against his clients to prove a statement by Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi as correct, Khan Thursday sent a letter to Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, asking the the case be transferred from the Delhi Police to the NIA (National Investigation Agency) for a fair probe, contending his clients were made scapegoats.

"Rahul Gandhi made a revelation during his public meeting in Indore Oct 24, 2013 that an officer of the Intelligence Bureau briefed him about the infiltration of ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) in relief camps in Muzaffarnagar for the purpose of recruitment of youngsters. He further revealed the said officer also contacted those youngsters," Khan said in his letter to Shinde.