• Home
• /
• World

Two teens arrested for sending Delhi blast email

SRINAGAR, India — Police in Indian-ruled Kashmir on Wednesday arrested two teenage students suspected of sending an email claiming responsibility for a bomb blast at New Delhi’s High Court that left 13 dead.

The email, which said the Pakistan-based militant group Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HuJI) carried out the September 7 attack, was traced to an Internet cafe in Kishtwar, near the Kashmiri city of Jammu.

Police, who identified the two students as Abid Hussain and Sharik Butt, said investigators were unable to confirm whether the email was a genuine claim or a hoax.

“We have arrested two people suspected of sending the email,” a police officer told AFP, declining to give his name. He said the arrests were made a few days ago.

The two, both aged 17 or 18, were tracked down after questioning of the Internet cafe owners and people using its computers when the email was sent.

A court remanded the two teenagers in custody for 10 days, the officer said, adding the pair have been charged with hatching a criminal conspiracy and committing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony.

They were among seven people detained over the past week in Kishtwar. Five others have been set free after questioning.

Another claim of responsibility, apparently from a home-grown militant outfit called Indian Mujahideen, was also sent to media the day after the attack.

HuJI has been accused of carrying out attacks in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, but the group has not been active in Muslim-majority Kashmir for years.

The blast ripped through a crowd queuing to enter the court complex in the heart of the Indian capital. Eleven people were killed on the spot while two more died later in hospital from their injuries.

The probe into the bombing is being run by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), a body set up in the wake of the 2008 Mumbai attacks by Islamist gunmen that left 166 people dead.

Police said the two teenagers would be questioned by NIA officers.