Court rap for cops in blast accused's custody

GUWAHATI: A lower court here on Sunday rejected the police's plea for extending remand of actress Jahnabee Saikia and self 'proclaimed' Ulfa member Pranomoy Rajguru, both of who are accused in the RG Baruah Road grenade blast case.
Both Saikia and Rajguru were sent to 10 days of police remand for further interrogation on May 17. They were secheduled to be produced in court on Monday. But the city police, without citing any reason, produced the duo in court a day earlier, on Sunday, and pleaded for extending their remand by four more days. The plea was turned down by the court. Sources said that the accused duo will be presented in court again on Monday.
Senior advocate Bhaskar BD Konwar, who is the counsel of the duo, said, "The court after hearing both police and the defensee rejected the plea for extending police custody of the duo by four days. The duo were expected to be produced in court on Monday. The investigatng officer did not cite any reason why the accused were produced before the fixed date."
The counsel added, "Probably the police today wanted to be smart and produce the accused on a Sunday thinking that the defense counsels will not be present and it will be easier to obtain an ex parte order. But they failed in their attempt."
Police on Sunday said they needed more time to interrogate the duo and recover more arms and ammunition. Earlier, during a raid at Saikia's residence at Panjabari, police had recovered arms and explosive items along with several incriminating documents.
In the blast that took place outside a busy shopping in the RG Baruah Road on the evening of March 15, at least 11 persons, including two security personnel, were injured. Following the blast, the city police registering two cases at Satgaon and Geetangar police stations and slapped charges of voluntarily causing grievous hurt, attempt to murder, waging war against the government on the duo. They were also booked under the Explosive Substances Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
So far, six persons have been arrested in connection with the case, including Ulfa (Independent) member Bijoy Asom.