Ahmedabad: Two suspected activists of the outlawed Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), arrested for their alleged role in planting bombs in Surat after the July 26 serial blasts here, were Thursday sent to 14-day police custody for questioning.

The accused have refused to take any legal assistance. The suspects, Tanveer Pathan and Zaheer Patel, were produced by the Surat police at the metropolitan court hearing the Ahmedabad serial blasts case and the Surat bomb case. Judge G. M. Patel sent them to jail till Sep 25 after the police sought more time to investigate the planting of bombs in Surat and their role in the Ahmedabad serial blasts.

For both Pathan and Patel, this is the second 14-day remand. The accused have so far refused to take legal help even after Patel Thursday offered services of a lawyer through the legal aid clinic. A series of 20-odd bombings had ripped through the Gujarat s main city of Ahmedabad July 26 killing 56 people.

Subsequently, at least 25 bombs were recovered in Surat. In its remand application, the Crime Branch of the police said more time was required by the investigating agency to unravel the plot of Surat. An explosive-laden car was found besides the other bombs in . Public prosecutor J. M. Panchal said: "Police want to further investigate about the Maruti WagonR car found in front of Purna Hospital laden with explosives.

The exact details about how the car was stolen from Navi Mumbai, how it was brought here, who put the fake number plates are issues that need to be investigated." More than 17 kg of ammonium nitrate, nine kilograms of splinters, 16 kg of screws, 11 detonators and one programmable IC chip were recovered from the car. Last Saturday, the two were sent by Judge Patel to four days remand.

The judge had also sent other accused, Abbas Sameja of Bhuj, Naved Qadri, Ayaz Saiyed and Javed Ahmed Shaikh of Ahmedabad, to custody till Sep 18. The crime branch of the city police had sought their custody to interrogate them. Its lawyer told the court the suspects were "well-educated and could misguide the police". The lawyers also accused that they played a major role in persuading young men to undertake terrorist activities.

Source : IANS