New Delhi, Nov 26: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) was granted a 10-day custody of Soyab, the accused in the Delhi terror blast case, who was arrested in Faridabad earlier on Wednesday.

Soyab was presented before the Patiala House Court, which approved his transfer to NIA custody for 10 days.

Additionally, another key accused, Aamir Rashid Ali, had his NIA custody expiring on the same day. He was also presented before the court, which extended his custody by an additional seven days.

The NIA, earlier in the day, arrested Soyab, a resident of Faridabad’s Dhoj, for harbouring terrorist Dr Umar Muhammad, also known as Umar Un Nabi, immediately before the Delhi terror bomb blast.

Soyab is the seventh person to be arrested in connection with the case.

According to the NIA, he not only harboured Umar before the attack but also provided logistical support crucial to the execution of the November 10 car bombing near the Red Fort that killed several people and left many others injured.

Before this arrest, the NIA had taken six of Umar’s close aides into custody as part of ongoing investigations under case number RC-21/2025/NIA/DLI.

The NIA stated that it is actively pursuing multiple leads related to the suicide bombing and has been conducting coordinated searches across several states with the assistance of local police forces. The agency said its objective is to identify and apprehend all members linked to the larger terror network responsible for the attack.

Meanwhile, ongoing investigations have revealed chilling details about terrorist Umar’s methods and preparations.

According to interrogation inputs from arrested members of the terror module, Umar maintained what investigators describe as a “mobile workstation” — a large suitcase containing bomb-making tools, chemical compounds and containers. He carried it with him wherever he went.

Umar, a medical professional associated with Al-Falah University in Faridabad, reportedly conducted chemical tests in his room on campus before creating the final Improvised Explosive Device (IED).

One of the arrested suspects, Dr Muzamil Shakeel, also affiliated with the same university, confirmed to interrogators that Umar experimented with substances that were later used in the blast.

Guwahati, Nov 26: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday underscored a “major turnaround” in the state’s battle against child marriage, saying a combination of stringent enforcement and systemic reforms has led to significant declines in the underage marriages and boosted legal accountability.

CM Sarma claimed that according to NFHS‑4 (2015-16) data, 31.8 per cent of women in Assam aged 20–24 were married before turning 18 – a rate that exceeded the national average.

Moreover, district-level fact sheets had recorded alarming prevalence in districts such as Dhubri, South Salmara, Barpeta and Nagaon, as high as 40–55 per cent.

However, the state now claims a decisive shift. Between 2023 and 2024 alone, more than 8,600 arrests were made in coordinated crackdowns under both the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA).

According to the Chief Minister, in 2022 the number of cases registered stood at 224, sharply up from just 149 in 2021, indicating a steep rise in enforcement.

CM Sarma said, “Beyond arrests, Assam has formed district-level task forces, headed by superintendents of police, to track and intercept impending child marriages. Community-level workers – including ASHAs, Anganwadi staff and schoolteachers – are now required to report suspected cases in real time.”

“Several districts have also reportedly established digital databases and child-protection tracking mechanisms,” he added.

The CM claimed that these measures have borne fruit: In hotspot districts, the incidence of child marriage fell by 8–17 per cent within a year, and more than 3,000 planned child marriages were prevented in 2023–24 alone.

Notably, the Assam government’s recent actions – from sustained crackdowns to setting up institutional safeguards – reflect a far more aggressive stance on child marriage than seen in earlier years, when the practice was largely treated as a social issue rather than a crime.

Guwahati, Nov 26: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday underscored a “major turnaround” in the state’s battle against child marriage, saying a combination of stringent enforcement and systemic reforms has led to significant declines in the underage marriages and boosted legal accountability.

CM Sarma claimed that according to NFHS‑4 (2015-16) data, 31.8 per cent of women in Assam aged 20–24 were married before turning 18 – a rate that exceeded the national average.

Moreover, district-level fact sheets had recorded alarming prevalence in districts such as Dhubri, South Salmara, Barpeta and Nagaon, as high as 40–55 per cent.

However, the state now claims a decisive shift. Between 2023 and 2024 alone, more than 8,600 arrests were made in coordinated crackdowns under both the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA).

According to the Chief Minister, in 2022 the number of cases registered stood at 224, sharply up from just 149 in 2021, indicating a steep rise in enforcement.

CM Sarma said, “Beyond arrests, Assam has formed district-level task forces, headed by superintendents of police, to track and intercept impending child marriages. Community-level workers – including ASHAs, Anganwadi staff and schoolteachers – are now required to report suspected cases in real time.”

“Several districts have also reportedly established digital databases and child-protection tracking mechanisms,” he added.

The CM claimed that these measures have borne fruit: In hotspot districts, the incidence of child marriage fell by 8–17 per cent within a year, and more than 3,000 planned child marriages were prevented in 2023–24 alone.

Notably, the Assam government’s recent actions – from sustained crackdowns to setting up institutional safeguards – reflect a far more aggressive stance on child marriage than seen in earlier years, when the practice was largely treated as a social issue rather than a crime.