Sabitri Dandapat and Kaushik Basu at Bankshal court on Wednesday. Pictures by Amit Datta

The bail prayers of Kaushik Basu and Sabitri Dandapat, arrested in connection with the terror mail hoax, were rejected by the chief metropolitan magistrate of Bankshal court on Wednesday. The two were remanded in judicial custody till August 27.

Judge S.S. Anand said that the officer investigating the case would be able to interroxgate Kaushik and Sabitri while they were in judicial custody.

Despite the police failing to find any proof of the duo’s involvement with the terror email during the 14 days they were in police custody, public prosecutor Ashoke Bakshi opposed the bail prayers on Wednesday.

“The investigation is not over because the report from the computer experts of Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) is yet to reach the police. The experts are examining the hard disks of the computers seized from Kaushik’s house,” said Bakshi.

Hours after an email was sent to media houses on July 29 threatening serial blasts across the city, police traced it to a cyber café run by Kaushik in his Salt Lake IA block house. He was arrested. Sabitri, who ran the café, was held the next day.

They were charged with waging war against the nation and being involved in a criminal conspiracy.

When asked about the progress of the probe, deputy commissioner (detective department) Jawed Shamim said: “We are waiting for the report from the CFSL and nothing can be said at this stage.”

One of the investigators, however, admitted that there had been no progress in the case over the past two weeks and the culprit was on the run.

“We cannot prove that the two were behind the email. It is only a matter of time before the charges against them are dropped,” said an officer of the detective department’s cyber crime wing.

“Kaushik and Sabitri’s bail pleas were opposed because the police want to be sure that they are innocent,” said a senior officer.

Bakshi also told the judge that the cyber café did not have a licence.

On hearing the court’s decision to send Kaushik to jail, his father Asim broke down on the court premises. “I don’t know how long I will have to wait to see my son back home,” he said.