Akshardham attack: Yasin Bhat in police remand till August 3

A Gujarat court Saturday remanded Mohammad Yasin Bhat, alleged prime conspirator of the 2002 Gandhinagar Akshardham Temple attack, in police custody till August 3.

The court of Principal Sessions Judge M K Dave overruled the crime branch's request for a 14-day remand for Bhat.

Bhat was arrested by the Gujarat ATS from Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir and was brought here on Friday on a transit remand.

Thirty-three persons, including a National Security Guard (NSG) commando, died when two terrorists opened fire inside the Akshardham temple complex on September 24, 2002. The two terrorists were gunned down by NSG commandos.

Bhat, an alleged operative of terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, had fled to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) after the attack, according to officials.

As per the ATS, Bhat played a key role in hatching the conspiracy to attack the temple, and also supplied arms and ammunition, including AK-47 assault rifles, to other accused who had come to Ahmedabad by train from Uttar Pradesh.

The Supreme Court, in May 2014, acquitted six persons arrested earlier in the case, including three who were facing death sentence.