The arrested person has been identified as Zainul Abedin, a native of Bhatkal in Karnataka.
State Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) sleuths on Tuesday morning arrested an alleged Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative after he arrived from at the international airport in Mumbai from a foreign destination. The suspect, who was allegedly involved in the 2011 triple blasts case in the city, was intercepted after the immigration authorities came across a red-corner notice (RCN) issued against him.
The arrested person has been identified as Zainul Abedin, a native of Bhatkal in Karnataka.
According to inspector general of police, ATS, Niket Kaushik, Abedin's involvement and role cropped up during the course of interrogation of the accused persons arrested earlier in the case. His identity was established only in 2015 and Abedin was then regarded as a wanted person in the case. "On receiving specific information that Abedin would be arriving from abroad, a trap was laid and he was taken into custody," Kaushik said.
He added that Abedin was produced before the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court and was remanded to police custody till May 6. "A probe revealed that he was a key person as far as the procurement and transfer of explosives are concerned, and that he is a key IM member. He is an important catch in the 13/7 blasts case. He was the missing chain in the case and with his arrest, the sequence gets complete. We would be grilling him to ascertain from where he sourced the explosives. With his questioning, we expect to get more information about the functioning of IM and its cadres in the state," Kaushik said.
Another ATS officer said that Abedin had fled the country in 2011 and an RCN was issued by the agency against him in 2015. "We are probing where all he stayed while on the run and what his purpose of visiting India (this time) is. Abedin is also wanted by other state police, including from Karnataka and Gujarat," the officer said.
On July 13, 2011, three bombs exploded at Opera House, Zaveri Bazaar and Dadar Kabutarkhana areas. A total of 27 people had died and 127 others were left injured in these blasts. The ATS then registered a case under the Indian Penal Code, Explosive Substance Act, Indian Explosive Act, Prevention of Defacement of Public Property Act, Prevention of Unlawful Activities Act and MCOCA.
The police had earlier arrested Naqi Ahmed Shaikh, Nadeem Akhtar Shaikh, Kawalnayan Pathreja, Haroon Rashid Naik, Kafeel Ahmed Ansari, Yasin Bhatkal, Asadullah Akhtar, Ajaz Shaikh, Sayed Ismail Lanka and Sadham Hussain Khan in the said case.
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