Arrested person not 'Tunda' but an African, says Kenyan police

New Delhi, July 23 (UNI) In a curious twist to the arrest of one of India's 'most wanted', Kenya today informed the country that the arrested criminal earlier thought to be an Indian national Syed Abdul Karim alias 'Tunda' was in fact an African.

The dampener after the initial euphoria came after Kenyan police officials today told Indian High Commission oficials in Nairobi that the arrested person was of West African descent and not an Indian national, as stated by media earlier.

''The arrested person was wanted for crime in Africa and had nothing to do with blasts in India.'' The official confirmation that it was not 'Tunda' but someone else not related to India, came in the wake of media reports that 'Tunda' had been handed over to the FBI of the United States.

The police clearly told Indian officials that the accused arrested in Mombasa on Friday was not Abdul Karim alias 'Tunda'.

The clarification came amidst preparations by the CBI, which was waiting for 'authentication' of the news that 'Tunda' had been arrested in Kenya, to leave for the African nation for necessary paperwork for the deportation of the top Lashkar-e-Toiba militant.

On July 21, the Kenyan police had claimed that they had arrested an Indian national Abdul Karim involved in several blasts there.

A 'red corner' notice against 'Tunda' had been issued by the Interpol, after the CBI made a request to this effect following his fleeing from the country in 1990s.

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