Bangladeshis held; terror links being probed

The police on Monday arrested two Bangladeshi youths in South Delhi's Nizamuddin area, allegedly with illegal firearms, reports HT Correspondent.

The police on Monday arrested two Bangladeshi youths in South Delhi's Nizamuddin area, allegedly with illegal firearms.

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The police believe the accused were involved in bringing illegal immigrants to India and may be linked to last year’s Mehrauli bomb blast.

The police are coordinating with other agencies to see if the accused — Mehboob (26), hailing from Nawabganj in Dhaka, and his accomplice Muneer (26) — formed sleeper cells .

“Their arrest came after inputs, during a probe into the Mehrauli blast, that a Bangladeshi youth involved in terror-related cases has sneaked into Delhi,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) H G S Dhaliwal.

Dhaliwal said Mehboob's movement during the Mehrauli blast on September 28 last year was being verified. “He has been evasive about his movements in Delhi at that time. Help from agencies is being sought,” he said.

Mehboob was arrested in connection with seven terror-related cases about three years ago in Bangladesh. He jumped bail and escaped to India, the police claimed.

Muneer was sentenced to three years in jail for the murder and robbery of a senior citizen in Rajinder Nagar in 2004.

During interrogation, Dhaliwal claimed, Mehboob told police that he was working for one Ismail, a terrorist who died in a shootout in Kamangi Chowk, Bangladesh.

“He sneaked into India through the help of one Rehman. His other associates in terrorist activities were Ismail, who was killed in the shootout, Parvez and Kalu, who are still in jail,” added Dhaliwal.

After reaching Delhi, Mehboob settled in Nizamuddin area along with Muneer and allegedly indulged in robberies in Delhi and NCR region.