Key conspirator held,NIA says his brother planted Sept 7 bomb

HC Blast: NIA hopes Wasim Akram Malik will lead them to his brother Junaid.

A day after The Indian Express reported the arrest of Wasim Akram Malik,a student of Unani medicine in Bangladesh,for his alleged role in the Delhi High Court blast,the National Investigation Agency said Wasims younger brother Junaid is a Hizbul Mujahideen militant who planted the bomb.

A Delhi court today remanded Wasim in 14 days NIA custody after the agency sought a chance to locate Junaid and nab the other conspirators.

The NIA described Wasim as the main conspirator of the attack on September 7 that killed 15 and left over 70 injured. Investigators are going through his mobile phone contacts and personal belongings. They have claimed that Wasim used two e-mail ids to communicate with co-conspirators while planning and executing the attack from his base in Dhaka.

NIA officials said that investigations suggest Wasim was contacted by Hizb cadres in Bangladesh to carry out the attack in coordination with HuJI and other Hizb operatives. Wasims arrest,they said,is a major breakthrough that could lead them to Junaid,believed to be in J&K. The agency believes Junaid turned to militancy in 2010,and both Wasim and he trained in a camp in PoK.

Despite the NIAs claims,however,several questions about the attack remain unanswered. The agency is yet to establish the motive and logistics of the strike,and whether the bomb was in a briefcase or a bag.

The court today also sent another accused,Abid Hussain,to the Juvenile Justice Board after medical reports showed he was a minor.