Delhi blast case handed over to NIA
New Delhi (PTI): The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Tuesday handed over the probe into a blast near the Red Fort to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), sources said.
This is a clear indication that the blast, which has so far claimed 12 lives, is being considered by the government as an act of terror, as the NIA is mandated to probe terror cases only.
"The blast case has been handed over to the NIA," a source said.
The decision came hours after Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the security situation in the national capital and other parts of the country following the blast.
Shah has called another security review meeting on Tuesday afternoon.
The home minister has said top investigating agencies are probing the blast and they will go in-depth into the incident.
The blast took place in a slow-moving car at a traffic signal near the Red Fort metro station on Monday evening, killing at least 12 people and gutting several vehicles, officials said.
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Rape-accused 'godman' Kharat sent to judicial custody till April 14
Nashik (PTI): A court in Maharashtra's Nashik on Wednesday remanded rape-accused self-styled godman Ashok Kharat in a 14-day judicial custody.
Kharat was arrested on March 18 after a 35-year-old woman accused him of repeated rape over a period of three years. Following his arrest, multiple rape complaints were filed against him.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) is conducting a probe against Kharat.
As his police custody ended on Wednesday, he was produced before the court. During the hearing, the SIT sought his judicial custody.
Accordingly, sessions judge B N Ichpurani remanded Kharat in judicial custody till April 14. He will be sent to Nashik Road Central Jail.
Kharat is scheduled to be produced in a court in another case on Thursday.
At least 10 FIRs, eight for alleged sexual assault or exploitation and two for cheating, have been registered against Kharat at Sarkarwada police station in Nashik, while the SIT has received more than 100 complaints over the phone against him.
On Wednesday, an SIT team detained Kharat's son Harshvardhan for questioning from their residence in Karmayogi Nagar here. He was let off at night.
The investigators are also trying to trace Kharat's wife Kalpana in connection with the probe against her husband. She is also named in a cheating case in Ahilyanagar district.
'Godman' Kharat heads a temple trust at Sinnar in Nashik and had several political leaders visit him over the years.
Last week, the SIT visited Kharat's office in Nashik along with a forensic science team, from where they recovered several documents, files and other evidence.
Notably, a 20-feet remote-controlled mechanised snake was also seized from his office. Kharat allegedly used the snake to make his visitors believe that he could control a live snake and thus possessed supernatural powers.
