HYDERABAD: An accused in the Mecca Masjid blast case, Bharat Bhai whose custody was granted to the National Investigation Agency was opposed by his counsel on Wednesday. Bharat Bhai, presently lodged in a prison in Ajmer, was arrested by the NIA on the May 18, 2007 in the Mecca Masjid blast case. On a petition filed by the NIA, a city court gave 15-day custody of the accused to NIA.
Bharat Bhai's counsel N Ramachandra Rao, however, filed a petition for rectification of the order. "For an accused to be shifted to police custody, he or she should be produced before the court in person and not through videolinkage,'' Ramachandra Rao argued.
The counsel further said neither Bharat Bhai nor his counsel were given a notice before giving police custody to NIA. The accused should be given an opportunity to oppose his custody, Ramachandra Rao said. The court posted the hearing on petition for Thursday and for NIA to file a counterpetition. Bharat Bhai alias Bharat Mohanlal Rateshwar, resident of Valsad in Gujarat, is presently lodged in a prison in Rajasthan and the NIA had shown him as an accused in Mecca blast case.
The NIA said the conspiracy to execute bomb blasts at various places in the country was hatched in the residence of Bharat Bhai. It is alleged the entire conspiracy to trigger bomb blast was hatched Bharat Bhai's house and the NIA expects to obtain more information from him, once he goes into the latter's custody.
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