The order came after a tug of war between the two probe agencies in which the special cell had its way with the court remanding the accused to its custody while brushing aside the claims of NIA to quiz them first.
“Once the accused are handed over to NIA, the period of 30 days as envisaged may lapse,” the court said and took note of the submissions of the special cell which had argued that it had got permission from Ministry of Home Affairs to conduct the investigation in the case.
“Accordingly, the special cell is granted further 13 days police custody to complete the investigation i.e upto April 15,” the court said.
Heated arguments between NIA and Delhi Police had taken place yesterday when Tehsin and Waqas, along with Mohd Maroof, Wakar Azhar and Mohd Saqib Ansari, who all were arrested by the special cell last month, were produced before the court with their faces muffled after expiry of their police custody.
