AIIMS to verify age of serial blast accused

NEW DELHI - A city court Monday directed the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to determine the age of a suspected Indian Mujahideen (IM) terrorist, allegedly involved in serial blasts in Delhi and several other cities, who has claimed to be a minor.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kaveri Baweja sent Salman Ahmed to Tihar Jail and ordered the age-determination test after his counsel produced a medical report to support his claim of being a minor.

Ahmed made the claim about his age through his counsel Iftekar Ansari, who told thecourt Ahmed was a minor when serial blasts took place in the capital on Sep 13, 2008. Ansari produced the marksheet of his Class 10 Uttar Pradesh Board exam showing his date of birth as Oct 3, 1992.

“In view of the contradictory claims with regard to the age of the accused, let ossification test be conducted on him by the medical board,” the court said.

The court ordered AIIMS to submit its report by April 22. The court also asked police to verify the marksheet produced by Ahmed.

Salman, who allegedly received terrorist training in Pakistan, was arrested in Uttar Pradesh earlier this month and brought to Delhi as part of investigations into bomb blasts across the country.

Police suspect Ahmed is involved in serial blasts in Delhi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Gorakhpur and Varanasi. Delhi Police had announced a reward of Rs.100,000 for his arrest.