BOMBAY, 3 October 2003 — Police arrested a local Muslim suspected in twin car bombings in Bombay and will charge him under a tough anti-terror law that carries the death penalty, the Press Trust of India reported yesterday.
Zaheed Patni was arrested under India’s Prevention of Terrorism Act for the Aug. 25 twin bombings that killed 52 people and left 150 others injured in the heart of Bombay, the news agency said quoting police.
Patni was arrested on Wednesday night when he returned from Dubai after detectives warned his parents to instruct their son to cooperate in the investigation “or face stern action,” the agency said. Patni is reported to have bankrolled the two blasts, police officials were quoted by United News of India as saying.
Police also linked Patni to a July 28 blast on a Bombay bus that claimed two lives, police said.
Patni is due to be produced before a court today to face charges.
The police say Patni was in contact with prime suspect Abdul Rehman Sayed Ali Aydeed, alias Naseer, who was killed last month by the police in a gun battle in Bombay.
Police claim Naseer was the brain behind the twin blasts who planted the devices in cars that detonated within minutes of each other at the landmark Gateway of India monument and a crowded bazaar.
Police said Patni is believed to be close to Sayeed Mohammed Hanif and Ashraf Ansari, named as other prime suspects in the bombings.
The two are now in custody along with Hanif’s wife Fahmeeda, and daughter Farheen.
Police said Patni and Hanif reportedly met in Dubai and orchestrated the twin-bombings to retaliate for last year’s Hindu-Muslim riots in the western state of Gujarat. An estimated 3,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in the grisly violence.
