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Mumbai blasts accused held?
The police in Kathmandu have arrested a Nepali man, Mohammad Zahir, for his alleged involvement in the July 13 serial blasts in Mumbai, state-run daily Gorkhapatra has reported.
The police in Kathmandu have arrested a Nepali man, Mohammad Zahir, for his alleged involvement in the July 13 serial blasts in Mumbai, state-run daily Gorkhapatra has reported.
The Mumbai Police anti-terrorism squad, however, denied any such development while the Nepal police said the man had been held for creating a nuisance in public and not for his role in the blasts.
Government sources in Delhi, too, said it was too early to say anything and pointed out that the name, Zahir, might not be correct. “Our agencies are in touch with the Nepal police,” a home ministry source said.
The daily said Zahir, from the Terai region bordering India, was arrested on July 15, two days after the blasts. Quoting unidentified police officials, it said Zahir had mentioned the blasts during a mobile phone conversation and in SMSes.
But Kathmandu police chief Kedar Rijal told HT no such person had been arrested while Nepal police spokesperson Navaraj Dhakal said the arrest was made but it wasn’t linked to the blasts.
With no extradition treaty, criminals wanted in India are secretly handed over by Nepal to Indian authorities, who in turn show the arrest was made near the border. Several militants operating in the Northeast have been apprehended in Nepal and handed over to India this way.
Inputs from Mumbai and New Delhi
