Anantnag: A team of National Investigation Agency (NIA) sleuths is carrying out searches in the forest area of Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir in connection with November 10 Delhi blast case, officials said on Tuesday.

They said the NIA sleuths, assisted by police and CRPF, brought along two of the accused, Dr Adeel Rather and Jasir Bilal Wani, arrested in connection with the “white collar” terror module busted by the Jammu and Kashmir Police, PTI reported quoting the officials. The two accused had told the investigators about some hideouts in the Mattan forest area of the south Kashmir district, according to the officials.

The fresh development comes a day after a court in Delhi on Monday extended the NIA custody of three doctors including Dr Rather and a preacher, who were arrested in connection with the Red Fort blast case, by four days.

All four accused — Dr Muzammil Ganai, Dr Adeel Rather, Dr Shaheena Saeed and Maulvi Irfan Ahmed Wagay — were produced before Principal and Sessions Judge Anju Bajaj Chandna on the expiry of their 10-day NIA custody granted on November 29. Mediapersons were barred from covering the court proceedings, which were held under tight security in and around the Patiala House district court premises.

Till now, the NIA has made seven arrests in the case, which is linked to the ‘white-collar’ terror module. “The agency continues to pursue various leads in connection with the suicide bombing, and has been conducting searches across states in coordination with the respective police forces to identify and track the others involved in the gruesome attack,” the agency said in a statement earlier.

Dr Umar-un-Nabi was driving the explosives-laden i20 car that detonated outside the Red Fort on November 10, killing 15 people and injuring several others.