IM's Bhatkal in police custody for 15 days

National Investigation Agency (NIA) special judge I.S. Mehta allowed the police plea to arrest Bhatkal and his aide and Indian Mujahideen operative Asadulla Akhtar alias Haddi after they were presented before it by a team of NIA, Hyderabad which said the accused are not required for further custodial interrogation.

The judge asked Delhi Police to present the duo before the designated court for trying the cases being probed by the Special Cell to gain their custody.

The accused were then presented before Additional Sessions Judge Daya Prakash who remanded both the accused to police custody till Nov 12.

Bhatkal and Akhtar was earlier taken to Hyderabad after being arrested on Sep 21 and Sep 17, respectively, by NIA's Hyderabad unit in connection with the Dilsukhnagar blast case that claimed 16 lives on Feb 21.

Earlier, the court had issued non-bailable warrants (NBWs) against both in the illegal arms factory case, in which the special cell had already arrested 16 alleged IM men, as the two were absconding since then.

In November 2011, the special cell had busted the illegal arms factory located in Meer Vihar area of Nangloi on the outskirts of the capital and arrested several alleged IM suspects.

On Nov 22, 2011, an FIR was registered against Bhatkal and later an NBW was also issued against him for setting up the factory.

Bhatkal, arrested along with Akhtar from the India-Nepal border, topped the Delhi Police list of 15 most wanted terrorists involved in bombings across the country.

He is a key suspect in the 2008 serial bombings in Delhi's Connaught Place, Gaffar Market and Greater Kailash areas which claimed 26 lives and injured 133 people.

Bhatkal, 30, whose real name is Ahmed Siddibapa, was one of the most wanted men in India and virtually the backbone of the Indian Mujahideen's (IM) network.