Samjhauta blast: Aseemanand sent to judicial custody till January 27

PANCHKULA: A Panchkula court on Thursday sent Samjhauta blasts key accused Swami Aseemanand to judicial custody till January 27.

Earlier today, the National Investigating Agency (NIA) produced Aseemanand before the court here at end of the period for which they were granted his custody.

As per reports, the NIA sought further remand of Aseemanand, who runs the Shabri Dham Ashram in Dang district of Gujarat, to extensively question him over his role in the train blasts.

Meanwhile, sleuths from the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) would be arriving in Haryana today to question Aseemanand in connection with the Malegaon mosque blasts of 2006 and 2008.

Aseemanand was arrested on November 19, 2010 for his alleged involvement in the Ajmer, Hyderabad and Samjhauta Express blasts, which all took place in the year 2007.

A Panchkula Special Court had earlier extended his police remand by 10 days.

Earlier, Aseemanand revealed that his alleged right hand man, Sunil Joshi, who was murdered in mysterious circumstances in Dewas in Madhya Pradesh on December 29, 2007, was behind the Malegaon bombing of September 2006.

He has also reportedly given graphic details of how Indresh and several others were working in tandem planning terror strikes.

The NIA has followed suit in its probe into the Samjhauta blasts case. NIA investigators have also recorded the statement of a witness, Bharat Bhai, under section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).