Delhi blasts: IM suspect held in Lucknow

New Delhi, Sep 30: Indian Mujahideen terrorist Mohammad Arif alias Abdul Quadir was arrested from Lucknow on Monday, Sep 29, may have been one of the conspirators of the Delhi serial blasts, a senior Delhi Police official claimed. However, he said Arif did not appear to have any direct involvement with the blasts.

"We had received an intelligence report which stated that Arif was hiding in Lucknow and we passed this information to UP police. They were quick to act on it and arrest him," said the officer. Interestingly, the officer said there was a possibility of a third Indian Mujahideen module operating in the city. "According to our reports and one of the e-mails we received, a third IM module - besides the two which have been identified - is operational and this one is a 'fidayeen' or suicide bomber squad. We are verifying this information,'' he said.

He added that interrogation of Sadiq, who was in Mumbai police's custody, would reveal more on this. "Saif, who is in our custody was nothing but a foot soldier of IM and hence, hasn't been able to reveal much about the planning. He was only following instructions. Sadiq, on the other hand was one of the key elements involved with planning this attack, along with Atif. Another key player is Shahrukh, who is still at large," he said. However, he denied that more attacks were coming in the city.

About their training, the official said that Atif had gone to Pakistan for training and after returning, he trained all the other accused in India itself. "He handpicked the members and personally ensured their proper training in bomb making after he brainwashed them completely. He sent some to Ahmedabad while some others were trained in the city," he said.

A senior crime branch official from Mumbai confirmed that Sadiq was an important member of IM. "We are questioning him about his modus operandi and targets. He confessed that Mumbai was their next target and he was one of the brains behind the entire operation. He also confessed that he had assigned Atif the responsibility of carrying out the Delhi blasts and most of their funding happened through hawala money. Whenever they needed money, they would inform their operatives in Pakistan who would transfer funds through wire transfer,'' he said.

OneIndia News