 LUCKNOW: Indian police have arrested six men, including an Indian cleric, over triple bombings that killed more than 20 people in the holy Hindu city of Varanasi last month, an official said on Wednesday. Police suspected the six belonged to a Bangladesh-based Islamic militant outfit and were holding them on charges of murder and conspiracy, said Uttar Pradesh Home Secretary SK Agarwal. “In a late-night swoop (Tuesday), police arrested six men who are part of a module that took part in the blasts,” he confirmed.
Police arrested the six in twin raids in Lucknow and its outskirts, Agarwal said, adding that the explosive material RDX, grenades and an assault rifle were also seized. Police sources confirmed that an Indian cleric, Waliullah, was among those arrested. They accused him of acting as the local commander of the Bangladesh-based Islamist militant group Harkatul Jihad-al Islami, (an offshoot of Jaish-e-Mohammed which is fighting New DelhiÂ’s rule in Indian-held Kashmir), and as a conduit for three Bangladeshis who carried out the Varanasi blasts.
| HuJI is an organization in its own right. It's the real al-Qaeda affiliate in Bangla. JMB's just a home-grown Taliban. |
“Waliullah is the mastermind who got his contacts in Bangladesh to send three militants to carry out the Varanasi blasts,” said senior police officer SK Bhagat, while addressing a press conference. The cleric, from a rural mosque in Uttar Pradesh state where Varanasi is located, provided the bombers with shelter ahead of the blasts and carried out reconnaissance of targets in Varanasi, including an historic temple, police said. |