Special NIA court issues production warrants against Yasin Bhatkal, others

NEW DELHI: A special NIA court today issued production warrants against Indian Mujahideen (IM) co-founder Yasin Bhatkal and two others seeking their presence before it on April 2 in connection with a case of alleged conspiracy to carry out terror acts in India.

During an in-chamber hearing, District Judge I S Mehta issued the production warrants after Bhatkal, his close aide Asadullah Akhtar and suspected IM operative Obaid-Ur-Rehman, chargesheeted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for their alleged roles in the case, were not produced before the court today, sources said.

They also said that Bhatkal and Akhtar are presently in Mumbai under custody of Maharashtra ATS while Obaid-Ur-Rehman was in Bangalore in connection with the cases lodged against them there.

The court has now fixed the matter for April 2 for further proceedings and asked NIA to supply the copies of charge sheet and other documents filed along with it to the counsel appearing for the accused.

The sources said the counsel appearing for the accused told the court that scrutiny of documents filed along with the 277-page supplementary charge sheet of NIA is going on. The court had on February 24 taken cognisance of NIA's charge sheet in which Bhatkal, Akhtar, Manzer Imam and Ujjair Ahmed were named as accused for allegedly waging war against the country, conspiring for terrorist acts, membership of a terror organisation and radicalisation and recruitment of youths for IM.

They have been chargesheeted under various sections of IPC, including 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 121 (waging war against the country), 121-A (conspiracy to wage war) and under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Bhatkal and Akhtar were among the 12 top IM members listed as absconders in the 42-page charge sheet filed earlier against arrested accused Mohammad Danish Ansari, Mohammad Aftab Alam, Imran Khan, Syed Maqbool and Obaid-Ur-Rehman under various penal provisions of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and IPC for conspiracy to commit offences against India.