Police seek custody of B'luru blast prime accused

 The Kerala police on Thursday submitted before a Bengaluru court a production warrant from Ernakulam court for the custody of Thadiyantavide Nazeer (T Nazeer), prime accused in the 2008 Bengaluru serial blasts case.

The Ernakulam police had arrested Shahanas P A, an associate of T Nazeer, for threatening the witnesses in the case.

The Ernakulam police team, led by Assistant Commissioner of Police Suresh Kumar, submitted the production warrant before the 48th Additional City Civil and Sessions Court, trying the blasts case, seeking the custody of Nazeer. The Ernakulam police had seized 7-8 letters from the possession of Shahanas, directing him to threaten a few witnesses in the case. The police had also recovered a key of a handcuff from his possession.

The Kerala police had found that the letters were dispatched from the Bengaluru Central Prisons at Parappana Agrahara. On Thursday, the Kerala police team visited the prison and collected the CCTV footage of the visitors’ room. A senior police official said that the Kerala police team also collected the list of visitors who have met Nazeer since 2014. The Ernakulam police have booked Shahanas under Section 22 of the Act for threatening the witnesses.

Meanwhile, Special Public Prosecutor in the 2008 serial blasts case on Thursday pressed for a direction from the court to the police to provide security to the witnesses in the case. The City police had registered nine cases in connection with the serial blasts that took place on July 25, 2008, in which a woman was killed and several others sustained injuries. The trial in these cases is going on a daily basis before the 48th Additional City Civil and Sessions Court.