File photo: Bihar BJP chief Sushil Kumar Modi with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar
The BJP on Friday accused the Bihar government - from which it was forced out recently - of a weak role in the arrest of
Yasin Bhatkal, one of India's most-wanted men. The party said that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar asked the police to desist from arresting or seeking Bhatkal's custody because he didn't want to upset Muslims, who are a crucial part of his support base.
Bhatkal, the alleged co-founder of terror group, Indian Mujahideen, was arrested on Wednesday night on the porous Indo-Nepal border in a joint operation between officials from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Bihar Police. He was flown to Delhi on Friday and will spend the next 12 days in the custody of the NIA.
"Why bhatkal was not taken on remand by Bihar govt for interrogation?whereas 6 state govts are in Q for taking him on remand," tweeted Sushil Kumar Modi, the state BJP chief .
"How can goons and terrorists be poster boys for any party? BJP should apologise for its comments,"responded KC Tyagi of the chief minister's party, the Janata Dal (United).
In June, Mr Kumar ended a 17-year alliance with the BJP over its decision to place
Narendra Modi in charge of its campaign for the national election. Mr Kumar and his party haven described Mr Modi as a divisive leader who did not do enough to stop communal riots in Gujarat in 2002 during his first term as chief minister.
The BJP said that the police should have extensively interrogated Bhatkal, believed to be in his 30s, about July's serial blasts in the town of Bodh Gaya, a pilgrimage town for Buddhists.
(Read: Yasin Bhatkal said blasts were to send a message, claim cops)Bihar's top police officer, Abhayanand, denied the BJP's accusations and said that because there was no arrest warrant issued earlier for Bhatkal in the state, there was no question of seeking his custody to keep him in the state.
He also pointed out that the probe of the terror attack at Bodh Gaya is being handled by the National Investigation Agency.