Madani sent to police custody till August 26

People's Democratic Party leader Abdul Nasser Madani has been remanded to police custody till August 26 by a magistrate in Bangalore in connection with the 2008 Bangalore serial blast case.

Hours after his arrest at Kollam in Kerala by Karnataka police, Madani was flown in to Bangalore on Tuesday night and produced before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Venkatesh R Hulagi at his residence.

The court granted custody on conditions that he be allowed to perform all religious rituals during Ramzan and avail all medical facilities any time he so desires.

The magistrate came out of his residence and spoke to Madani, who has lost one of his legs in a bomb blast, in the car in which he was seated.

Madani's arrest came hours before the deadline for executing a non-bailable warrant issued by a Bangalore court against him was to expire.

The PDP leader, who was arrested from his orphanage-cum-madrassa complex earlier in the day, was brought to Bangalore from Thiruvanathapuram in a private airline flight amid heavy police security, with Joint Commissioner of Crime Alok Kumar and Assistant Commissioner of Police Omkaraiah escorting him.

The two senior police officials had gone to Kerala to execute the arrest warrant.

Asked about the delay in arresting the PDP leader, Alok Kumar said, "We have executed the non-bailable warrant."

Ending an eight-day long suspense, Madani was arrested amid high drama at Anwarassery in Kollam.

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court had asked Madani, who had sought anticipatory bail, to apply for regular bail as he has already been arrested.

Based on the confession of LeT suspect T Naseer, Madani was listed as 31st accused in the additional chargesheet in the Bangalore blasts, which left a woman dead and 20 others injured on July 25, 2008.