Judicial custody of Swami Aseemanand extended

A local court today extended the judicial custody of Swami Aseemanand, an accused in several terror cases including Ajmer Dargah blast, to 180 days from 90 days on an appeal by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

The agency had requested the court of chief judicial magistrate Ratan Lal Moond to extend the judicial custody of Aseemanand as they have to start the probe afresh.

The 90-day judicial custody of 59-year-old Aseemanand will end on April 22.

Advocate of the accused JS Rana told the reporters that this court is not competent to extend the judicial custody period of Aseemanand.

We will appeal to the competent court against the decision, he said.

Aseemanand, prime accused in Hyderabad's Mecca Masjid blast case, had in his confessional statement recorded by a magistrate here on December 12, 2010 said he and several other Sangh activists had a direct role in the blasts, including those at Malegaon, Samjhauta Express, Ajmer dargah and Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad.

The 2007 blast at the Dargah of Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer had left three persons dead and 15 others injured.