In a lead that Hyderabad Police believe may link the series of recent blasts, Bangladesh Police reportedly arrested terrorist Abu Hamza on the Indo-Bangla border today on a tip-off from the city police. Hyderabad Police believe Hamza, who was once a resident of the Santoshnagar area here, was behind the blasts at the Task Force office in October 2005 and at Mecca Masjid on May 18 this year. Police believe Hamza is responsible for smuggling RDX into the country on the orders of Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islamia (HUJI) militant Mohd Shaheed alias Bilal. Sources here said it might take some time to extradite him to India. Meanwhile, the police here also launched a search operation to find a large amount of RDX smuggled into the city before the Mecca Masjid blast. A new FIR has been filed to push the probe into the August 25 bombings that killed at least 40 people. Fifteen people, including key terror suspect Bilal, have been booked under Explosives Act and for conspiring to carry out bomb attacks, Hyderabad Police Commissioner Balwinder Singh said today. Only four of the 15 suspects are in police custody. Bilal is among the 11 still on the loose. Bilal is said to have masterminded the twin blasts on August 25 and is also believed to be involved in the Mecca Masjid blast. “We have found a conspiracy to bring RDX to India and have arrested some persons in that connection,” said Singh. The new FIR is largely based on the revelations of Sameer Sheikh alias Nayeem, 26, an alleged LeT operative arrested on the Bangladesh border in West Bengal on April 1 this year. He is also an accused in the Mumbai train blasts case. Nayeem is said to have told investigators that he transported intruders and 10 kg of RDX from Bangladesh to Mumbai and Hyderabad over the 18 months period prior to his arrest.
