NEW DELHI, Dec 2: The Union Home Ministry on Tuesday appointed senior advocate Madhav Khurana as the special public prosecutor (SPP) to conduct the trial and related proceedings in the November 10 Red Fort car blast case that claimed 15 lives, a government order said.
According to the order, Khurana will serve as SPP for three years on behalf of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), representing the agency before the NIA special court and the Delhi High Court. His appointment has been made under Section 15(1) of the NIA Act, 2008, read with Section 18(8) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.
The notification, issued by Joint Secretary Arvind Khare, states that Khurana will oversee the trial and all associated legal matters until the completion of the case or the expiry of his three-year term, whichever is earlier.
The NIA has so far arrested seven key accused in the November 10 blast, in which alleged suicide bomber Umar Un Nabi detonated an IED inside a Hyundai i20 near the Red Fort. The case is linked to a white-collar terror module exposed by Jammu and Kashmir Police.
Umar, a resident of Pulwama and an assistant professor in general medicine at Al Falah University in Faridabad, Haryana, has also had another vehicle seized by the NIA for examination. The agency has examined 73 witnesses so far, including injured survivors of the blast. (Agencies)
