Delhi blast: Court allows accused Wani’s plea to meet lawyer at NIA headquarters

A Delhi court on Saturday allowed the plea of Jasir Bilal Wani, an accused in the Red Fort blast case, to meet his lawyer at the National Investigation Agency (NIA) headquarters, court sources said.

The plea was allowed by Principal District and Sessions Judge Anju Bajaj Chandna of the Patiala House Court, they said.

On Friday, the Delhi High Court refused to pass an order to allow the accused’s plea, saying he failed to show any order passed by the trial court rejecting his prayer.

The high court, in the alternative, granted Wani’s counsel the liberty to approach the trial court concerned on Saturday for adjudication of his plea in accordance with law.

A resident of Qazigund in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag, Wani was arrested in Srinagar by the NIA on November 17 for allegedly providing technical support for carrying out terror attacks by modifying drones and attempting to make rockets ahead of the November 10 blast.

The next day, Judge Chandna sent him to 10-day NIA custody.

According to the NIA, Wani was an “active co-conspirator” in the blast and worked closely with “suicide bomber” Dr Umar-un-Nabi to plan the “terror carnage”.

Nabi was driving the explosives-laden i20 that detonated outside the Red Fort and claimed 15 lives on November 10.

The blast came shortly after an interstate “white-collar” terror module was uncovered with the recovery of around 3,000 kg of explosives, including ammonium nitrate, mainly from Faridabad in Haryana.

Wani is among six people arrested by the NIA so far in connection with the module.