Mumbai:
Two alleged Indian Mujahideen operatives, who provided vehicles used in the 2008 serial blasts in Gujarat that killed 56 and wounded over 200, have been arrested by Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad (ATS).
The terror suspects identified as Mohammed Mobin Abdul Shakoor Khan alias Irfan (32) and his cousin Ayub Raja Amin Shaikh (28) were arrested in an Arms Act case from suburban Mankhurd on July 6 after they were found with a pistol, revolver and four rounds of ammunition, Maharashtra ATS chief Rakesh Maria said today.
"The two have been remanded in police custody till July 16. After our custody ends, Gujarat police and Mumbai crime branch, will seek their custody in cases for which they want them," he told reporters.
Gujarat Police is probing the case of Ahmedabad blasts on July 26, 2008, and explosives found in four-wheelers the next day in Surat.
21 bomb explosions had rocked Ahmedabad in a span of 70 minutes, killing 56 people and injuring over 200.
"The two had stolen four vehicles from near Mumbai of which two were used in Ahmedabad blasts while the rest were driven to Surat, where these explosive-laden vehicles did not explode," Maria said.
Two months prior to the blasts, the duo was told by their associate Afzal Usmani Mutallib (36), who recruited them in the IM, that four-wheelers were required for packing them with explosives that would be used in the two important cities in Gujarat, he said.