Valsad Deputy Superintendent of Police K G Erda, who was arrested in connection with the Gulbarg Society massacre, was sent in five days police remand on Monday. The Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team arrested him for dereliction of duty, abetment to murder and tampering with evidence.

Incidentally, the punishment for abetment of an offence is the same as for the offence. Thirty-nine people were killed in the massacre, including former Congress MP Ehaan Jaffri.

After arresting Erda from Valsad, Deputy Superintendent of Police J M Suthar had produced him before the court of Metropolitan Magistrate C B Patel at his residence on Monday. SIT officials had demanded police custody of Erda for 12 days, but the court granted it for five days till Friday.

Erda's advocate Mitesh Amin said the officer has been accused of improper investigation and of shielding some of the accused.

Some of the points of improper investigation include, not getting blood samples of the dead, and not calling the Forensic Science Laboratory and the Fire Brigade after the massacre. He has also been accused of holding two panchnamas of the same jewellery box found from Gulbarg Society.Erda has also been accused of not issuing arms to policemen present at the site of the massacre.