Metropolitan Magistrate N Shrimangle extended the police custody of Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone terrorist arrested during the Mumbai terror attack, till February 26.

Justice Shrimangle had to visit Kasab in the Crime Branch lock-up at the police headquarters near Crawford market, as the police had cited security reasons for not producing him in court.

Kasab (21), who has been in custody since his arrest on November 26 last year, has been booked in 12 cases registered across the city. Kasab and his accomplice Ismail Khan, who was killed in police firing on the same night, boarded a taxi from Cuffe Parade area and got down at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST). The cab, driven from there on by Mohammed Umar Abdul Khalid Shaikh, exploded later near Vile Parle. The police said Kasab and Khan had planted explosives before alighting from the taxi at CST.

The Mumbai Police has till now arrested four accused, including Kasab, for their alleged role in the 26/11 terror attack, and all are presently in police custody. The police are likely to file a chargesheet against the accused soon and they will be tried in a special court being set up inside the Arthur Road jail.