Pune blast case: Himayat remanded in police custody

Judge S S Bose passed the order after the prosecution told the court that Baig, who had links with LeT and IM, had hatched a "conspiracy" to engineer the Pune blast that killed 17 persons and injured 56 others.

Public prosecutor A V Ausekar submitted that 29-year-old Baig was also wanted in connection with possession of illegal explosives procured from Pakistan and recovered in Aurangabad in 2006 and in another case in which he circulated "jihadi" literature in Pune in 2008.

Pleading for 14-day-police remand for Baig, he said "It is necessary for prosecution to trace links of the accused in other countries to know how the bomb that rocked the German Bakery was manufactured. Since this is also an inter-state crime, police will require to travel to other states to gather evidence".

"The accused tried to strike terror by his act against the Indian state," he contented.
The judge asked Baig, who was brought to the court with his face covered, "Do you have any complaint"? to which he replied in the negative.The judge then passed his order remanding the accused in police custody till September 20.ATS investigating officer Vinod Satav later told reporters that 1,200 gms of RDX was recovered from Baig, who hails from Udgir in Latur district.

Pune Bar Association president Milind Pawar told the court that in view of the anti-national dimension of the crime, the fraternity members have resolved not to represent the accused in the case.

Meanwhile, a local court in Nashik remanded Shaikh Lalbaba Mohammed Hussain alias Bilal in ATS custody till September 14 this afternoon.Baig, head of Maharashtra LeT module, was arrested from Mahatma Gandhi bus stand in Pune yesterday afternoon, while his aide, Bilal, was nabbed from Subash Chandra Bose Marg in Nashik last night.