Suspected Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT) terrorist Mohammed Umer Madani (50) recruited more than 50 young men from north India and Nepal over eight years into the outfit, police said.
He was also a close associate of top LeT operators Mohammad Hafiz Saeed and Zakir-ur-Rehman Lakhwi, prime accused in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, police said.
Madani was arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police on Thursday.
“Madani recruited LeT militant Kamal Ansari, who was arrested in the Mumbai train blast case in 2006, and three other militants convicted for carrying explosives,” said PN Aggarwal, joint commissioner of police (Special Cell).
Confirming that Madani has links with Saeed, Home Minister P Chidambaram said “it is a measure of the good intelligence and good investigative work done by our intelligence agencies and police”.
The police said Madani’s disclosure confirmed the LeT is exploiting the coastal regions of the country to launch attacks.
The Mumbai terrorists had entered the city through the sea route.
His most recent task was to recruit at least two people each from Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai — one with high computer skills, the other a graduate.
The police said Madani is from Bihar and shifted to Nepal in 1983. In 2000, he opened a tour and travel office and a business in surgical goods and received funds through Pakistan.
{{/usCountry}}The police said Madani is from Bihar and shifted to Nepal in 1983. In 2000, he opened a tour and travel office and a business in surgical goods and received funds through Pakistan.
{{/usCountry}}The police reportedly recovered $ 30,000 (Rs 14.2 lakh), fake Indian currency worth Rs 4,068 and a Nepalese citizenship card from Madani.
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