New Delhi, April 19 (H.S.): The duty judge of Rouse Avenue Court, Jitendra Singh, ordered on Saturday the extension of judicial custody for seven accused in the MCOCA case related to Aam Aadmi Party leader Naresh Balyan until April 23. Apart from Naresh Balyan, the accused whose judicial custody has been extended include Ritik alias Peter, Sachin Chikara, Rohit alias Anna, Sahil alias Poly, Jai alias Kalu, and Jyoti Prakash alias Baba. All the accused appeared in court via video conferencing today.

The court had extended the investigation period against Naresh Balyan for 60 days on March 1. The investigation period against Naresh Balyan was set to end on March 3. The Delhi Police had sought a 90-day extension for the investigation period. The court had taken cognizance of the charge sheet filed against accused Ritik Peter on February 24. On January 4, the Delhi Police had filed the first charge sheet related to the MCOCA case. The Delhi Police submitted a charge sheet of approximately 300 pages under section 3 of MCOCA against Ritik Peter. After Naresh Balyan was granted bail in a recovery case on December 4, 2024, the Delhi Police arrested him in the MCOCA case. The Delhi Police had arrested Naresh Balyan on the night of November 30, 2024, in the recovery case. Previously, the BJP had released an audio clip of Naresh Balyan, which contained a conversation between gangster Kapil Sangwan alias Nandu and Balyan.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar