The Aryavarth Express
New Delhi: A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court at Patiala House on Friday extended the custody of Dr Bilal Nasir Malla by seven days in connection with the Delhi blast case, while co-accused Shoyeb was remanded to judicial custody.
Both accused were produced before the court after the expiry of their earlier NIA custody. Principal District and Sessions Judge, who is also the Special NIA Judge, extended Malla’s NIA custody until December 26. Shoyeb has been sent to judicial custody until December 24. The proceedings were conducted in a closed courtroom.
Earlier this week, the special NIA judge had remanded both accused to four days of NIA custody. During that hearing, the court allowed an application filed by the NIA seeking permission to collect handwriting samples of Bilal Nasir Malla. The samples were subsequently taken before a magistrate. With the court’s approval, Malla’s voice samples were also obtained the following day.
The case relates to a deadly blast in Delhi on November 10 at around 7 pm, when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (IED) detonated in a moving Hyundai i20 car. The explosion killed 15 people and injured more than two dozen others.
The NIA has forensically established that the deceased driver of the vehicle was Umar Un Nabi, an alleged suicide bomber from Pulwama district in Jammu and Kashmir. Nabi was working as an Assistant Professor in the General Medicine Department at Al Falah University in Faridabad.
The anti-terror agency has also seized another vehicle belonging to Nabi, which is currently being examined for evidence. So far, the NIA has questioned 73 witnesses, including those injured in the blast.
The investigation is being carried out in coordination with the Delhi Police, Jammu and Kashmir Police, Haryana Police, Uttar Pradesh Police, and other agencies, with searches and inquiries continuing across multiple states.
