Delhi blast: 2 arrested in Kishtwar for terror e-mail

Two youths were arrested in Kishtwar town today and booked for criminal conspiracy among other charges for their alleged role in sending the terror e-mail from Jammu and Kashmir claiming responsibility for the Delhi High Court blast.

In the first arrests in connection with the e-mail a week after the blast that could give some definite leads, Shariq Ahmed and Abid Hussain were picked up by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the attack, and Jammu and Kashmir Police. Thirteen people were killed in the briefcase bomb blast last Wednesday outside the high court.

Official sources said that investigators decided to place the two residents of Kishtwar town under arrest after an early morning operation. The arrested youths are close kins of two surrendered militants Irshad Ahmed and Farooq Ahmed who were detained in the e-mail case.

The duo were produced before the Principal District and Session NL Manhas in Kishtwar district who remanded them in seven-day Police custody.

"Out of the two, one has sent the email. it is now confirmed", an official attached with the probe said.

They have been booked under IPC Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 153-A (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc, and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 134-A (attack on government servant on duty).

The two, who were accused of sending the terror e-mail about an hour after the blast, also faced charges of hacking of computer system) under section 66 of the Information Technology Act.

The cybercafe from where the e-mail is alleged to have been sent has also been sealed.

As a major breakthrough in the probe eluded investigators a week after the terror attack, Union Home Secretary RK Singh said in New Delhi that there were clues and some arrests have been made in connection with the blast but he did not give any details.

"Some people have been arrested and they are being interrogated," Singh told reporters in New Delhi when asked about the progress in cracking the case.

He said NIA  has got some clues and there is progress.

"We have clues. There is progress also. But we do not want to disclose whatever progress we have made as it will hamper the investigation," he said.

It is alleged that either Abid or Sharik had used the gmail acount "harkatuljihadi2011@gmail.com" account for sending the email which claimed responsibility for the blast.

Official sources said they have been questioned and their role in the blast conspiracy is being probed vigorously.

Records of the computer used in a cyber cafe in Kishtwar are being analysed to ascertain if the two had any links with the perpetrators of the crime.

The sources, however, said that neither of the two had any past criminal or militancy-related record.

The sources said there could be a possibility that they had sent the email at the behest of someone. The duo were maintaining total silence during questioning and the two would be subjected to a lie detector and other scientific tests, they said.

"We own responsibility of the blast at the High Court, Delhi. Our demand is that Afzal Guru’s death sentence should be repealed immediately as we would target major high courts and the Supreme Court of India," the terror mail had said.

The NIA had yesterday raised the reward money from Rs5 lakh to Rs10 lakh for anybody giving information about the perpetrators of the blast.

The Special Task Force of Kolkata Police meanwhile arrested a 14-year-old student for allegedly sending a 'mischievous' e-mail to media houses claiming responsibility for the high court blast.

The student, Sunny Shukla of Pakur in Jharkhand, sent two e-mails in this connection posing as a member of terror group Indian Mujahideen, Additional Commissioner of Police (STF), Rajiv Kumar told reporters.

"After interrogating him we are sure that the e-mails were sent mischievously and he has no connection with terror groups and not responsible for the Delhi High Court blasts," Kumar said.

Shukla sent the second and the fourth mail of the four mails received by the media houses from e-mail ID-chotoominani5@gmail.com through a Blackberry mobile using a SIM card of the Kolkata circle, claiming that the IM and not Huji was responsible for the blasts, Kumar said.

"He provided us the password and the e-mails were traced in his outbox," Kumar said.

"We have charged him under IT section 66A, 66B and 257 A of IPC and he has been produced in a juvenile court," Kumar said.

In reply to a question, he said that an NIA officer would interrogate Shukla.