Sixteen of the total 20 accused in the Bilkis Bano rape and massacre case have been remanded to judicial custody till May 18 by a local court Wednesday. Fourteen people were killed in the incident, which occurred during the Gujarat riots last year.

Two policemen who surrendered before the court Tuesday, taking the total number of those in custody to 18, have already been remanded to judicial custody till May 18.

Chief Judicial Magistrate (Ahmedabad rural) S M Padhya sent the 16 accused, including two doctors, four policemen and two Bharatiya Janata Party leaders from Dahod, to judicial custody after they were produced before the court Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the Gujarat high court Wednesday deferred to Thursday the hearing on a special criminal application filed by two deputy superintendents of police accused in the case. The policemen have sought that Central Bureau of Investigations proceedings against them be quashed.

Justice Sharad Dave briefly heard the submissions of defence advocate Asim Pandya before adjourning the matter, citing a paucity of time.

The CBI, which is investigating the case following a Supreme Court directive, has chargesheeted 20 people, including six policemen. In its interim report, the agency was critical of the initial investigations that the Gujarat police conducted in the case.