NEW DELHI: A court on Tuesday sent the SUV driver, accused of driving into the Delhi Assembly premises, to eight days of police custody after cops said they were probing a potential terror angle. The police remand application had urged 10-day custody of the accused, Sarabjeet Singh.
The prosecution told the court that the charge of attempt to murder has been invoked in the case as Singh tried to “run over the security personnel on duty twice” when they tried to stop him. The police told the court that Singh’s custodial interrogation was required to find out his motives and to conduct an in-depth investigation to unearth any conspiracy behind the security breach. He said the police were yet to recover Singh’s phone.
Police said it is required to investigate his routes and motive, review CCTV footage, complete the chain of events and examine different aspects of the case. He was to be confronted with witnesses and evidence to determine the full sequence of events. Singh’s counsel, meanwhile, opposed the application, claiming that he was mentally unstable and had been undergoing regular medical treatment for several months.
The judge asked “You are driving 700 km across states, and yet you are claiming insanity? How is it that only after committing this offence are you realising these mental issues? The counsel asked if the judge ordered a medical examination, “it will reveal the gravity of his mental illness.” The prosecution also claimed that Singh had earlier hired two drivers and enquired about the route, which indicated intent and knowledge about his actions.