Law Kumar Mishra
Patna, July 3
Two more accused of Darbhanga Railway Station parcel blast case, Haji Salim and his son Kafil were produced in Patna NIA court today.
While son Kafil was sent to NIA custody till July 9, father Salim was sent to jail in judicial custody as he was ailing. Earlier, the NIA team took Salim to the hospital soon after landing in Patna and provided the required medical care.
The NIA arrested a father and son from Kairana in Shamli district of Uttar Pradesh on Friday. The arrest was based on the tip off received from Mohammad Nasir Khan and his brother Imran Khan, who were arrested in Hyderabad on June 30 in connection with the blast.
They were the masterminds in the parcel bomb that was wrapped in women’s clothing and sent to Darbhanga from Secunderabad. The plot was to turn the express into a “burning train”. But fortunately, it did not detonate. The bomb exploded while it was being unloaded on Platform No. 1 of the Darbhanga Station on June 17.
Earlier, the court had ordered seven-day Judicial Custody to Mohammad Nasir Khan and Imran Khan with alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) links in the same case.
“We had submitted relevant documents in the court to establish the link of the accused with the LeT and terror funding,” special public prosecutor for Chhaya Mishra said, adding that the police custody was sought to further investigate the matter as it was a case of money laundering also. The Enforcement Director (ED) would also conduct a probe, she said.
Chhaya Mishra however declined to reveal how many times Salim had visited Pakistan where he was given training for making bombs. She said the matter was under investigation. “The court had sent Kafil in NIA custody and Salim in judicial custody as he is ailing,” Chhaya Mishra added.
The special NIA court observed: “Considering the aforesaid facts and circumstances of the case, the fact that this case relates with the security of the country and to unearth the larger conspiracy hatched by the accused persons in this case, this court finds it judicious to allow the petition of NIA for police remand…”
