NEW DELHI: Indian police have arrested four suspected militants, including an aide of the leader of a militant group, blamed for a string of deadly attacks across the country in recent years.

The arrest comes as India is on high security alert ahead of next month’s general election with police saying they had prevented a new terrorist strike.

Zia-Ur-Rahman, alias Waqas, was arrested on Saturday in Ajmer in the western state of Rajasthan, the second major blow for the Indian Mujahideen after the capture of founder leader Yasin Bhatkal in Nepal last year.

Three other suspected members of the group were also arrested with a large quantity of explosives, police said.

Waqas, who police said was a Pakistani national, was wanted for bomb blasts in Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad over the past several years, officials said.

The Indian Mujahideen militant group has been accused of dozens of bomb attacks over recent years. The group is also suspected of being behind an attack on a rally by prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi last October that killed six people and wounded more than 80.