Even as the Hyderabad police claimed they have some vital clues in the Feb. 21 twin bomb blasts case, investigation is still focussed on alleged Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative Sayed Maqbool, who is lodged in the Tihar jail in Delhi. He was reportedly questioned by the Special Cell of the Delhi police in the jail on Saturday to know more about his associates in Hyderabad.
Meanwhile, a Hyderabadi was taken into custody in Bihar while the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is hunting for another alleged IM operative Mohammed Tahseen alias Monu, who is said to be an associate of IM founder Yasin Bhatkal.
“A team of the NIA conducted raids in Samastipur and Darbhanga in the last 24 hours in search of Mohd Tahseen alias Monu and other operatives of Indian Mujahideen,” a senior police official said.
Last month, the NIA had raided Maniari village in Samastipur district in search of him, but he was not in his house. The team is looking for him in Darbhanga and Samastipur districts.
Simultaneously, the Bihar police took into custody Mohammed Alam, a Hyderabadi, on the Nepal border.
However, Bihar police said that so far, there is nothing to indicate that Mohammed Alam had anything to do with the Hyderabad blasts.
‘’We detained two persons, one from Somalia and the other from Hyderabad on the Nepal border. Both did not have valid documents. But interrogation revealed that Alam has nothing to do with the Hyderabad blasts but we are questioning him further,’’ a senior police official from East Champaran district said.
Bihar home secretary Amir Subhani said the state police would help the NIA in its probe of the blast in the Andhra Pradesh capital Thursday, which killed 16 people and injured over 100.
Meanwhile, NIA officials are reported to have met another alleged militant, Feroz in a jail in Nellore on Saturday. Last year, prior to his arrest, the IM operative Sayed Maqbool is said to have met Feroz in jail.
Investigators are also analysing the CCTV footage amid speculation that an image was captured of a person who parked one of the bomb-laden bicycles at one of the two bombing sites in Dilsukhnagar. Police would not confirm nor deny this.