The cleric-turned-politician is accused of taking part in the conspiracy hatched in the Karnataka town of Coorg before the blasts and his former aide T. Naseer, the key accused in the case, contacted him before and after the seven blasts that claimed one life and inured 15.

Ma’dani, 46, has since denied the charges terming it as an attempt by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government “with fabricated evidences” to cover up a series of “blasts and antinational activities” in which many BJP fellow-travellers stand accused.

“This is a political conspiracy hatched at the highest level to finish me off. I don’t think I’ll return alive though I have great faith in the judiciary,” he told reporters at his Anwarussey campus in the coastal Kerala district of Kollam before the arrest. “Once in Karnatraka, I may even be charged with the Mumbai attacks or the attack on the World Trade Center.”

Ma’dani was expected to surrender before a court after midday prayers but the Kerala police took control of his vehicle before he could leave the campus and the police from Karnataka executed the warrant issued by the Bangalore metropolitan magistrate.

After arrest, Ma’dani was taken straight to the airport and flown to Bangalore. He has to be produced in a court within 24 hours of the arrest.