Jalees Ansari is a convict of the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.
A 68-year-old convict of the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, Jalees Ansari, who had gone missing on Thursday after he jumped parole, has been arrested in Kanpur today. Ansari, also known as Dr Bomb, was leaving a mosque in the city and headed to the railway station when he was caught by the Uttar Pradesh Police's Special Task Force, police said.
"Jalees Ansari has been arrested when he was coming out from a mosque. He has been brought to Lucknow. It is a big achievement of the UP Police," said Uttar Pradesh top cop OP Singh.
Ansari, originally a resident of UP's Sant Kabir Nagar district and who holds a MBBS degree, may have been trying to leave the country through the Nepal route, police said, and added he was arrested due to an anonymous tip off to a senior STF officer.
The 68-year-old is serving a life term and is suspected to be involved in over 50 bomb blast cases across the country. Ansari was allegedly connected with terror outfits like SIMI and Indian Mujahideen and taught terror groups how to make bombs. He had also been questioned by the National Investigation Agency in 2011 in connection with the 2008 bomb blast in Mumbai.
Ansari was on parole for three weeks from the Ajmer Central Prison in Rajasthan and was expected to surrender on Friday, news agency PTI quoted officials as saying.
During the parole period, he was ordered to visit the Agripada Police Station everyday between 10.30 am and 12 pm to mark his attendance. However, Ansari did not visit the police station on Thursday.
His son later filed a missing complaint with the police and a massive manhunt was launched by the Crime Branch of the Mumbai Police, the Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad and other agencies for Ansari.
With inputs from PTI