Delhi HC blast: First arrests include 4 Kashmiri schoolboys, 1 alleged to be HuJI operative

Indian authorities have arrested four Kashmiri school boys, including one youth they allege is an operative for the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI), a terrorist group based in Pakistan.

According to the Indian Express, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has charged at least two of the youths with criminal conspiracy.

The two, identified by sources as Abid Hussain and Shariq Ahmed, allegedly sent the email to media houses in Delhi claiming that the Harkat-ul-Jihad Islami was responsible for the attack. They had been detained for questioning six days ago. They have been booked under Section 120(B) of the IPC (criminal conspiracy) and under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the paper said.

Shortly after those arrests, the authorities arrested two more students in Kishtwar town in connection with the bomb blast, based on information gained from interrogating Hussain and Ahmed, the paper said in another report.

Sources identified the suspects as Hilal Amin of Nagseni and Amir Abbas.

Apart from these four boys, the police are still holding the Global Internet cybercafé owner Mehmood Aziz Khawaja and his manager Ashwani Kumar, as the first email claiming credit for the bomb blast was traced to a computer at the cafe.

According to the Press Trust of India (PTI), security agencies believe Hilal Amin is a HuJI operative, and he instructed one or more of the other boys to send the email.