NEW DELHI- Abu Bashir was brought to Delhi for interrogations in connection with the Delhi serial blasts on Thursday and admitted that he had been staying in the capital since July.
Bashir, who is being questioned by the special cell of Delhi Police, also revealed that one of his close associates, Danish, also stayed with his brother, Abu Zar.
Elaborating more on his Delhi stay, Bashir informed the investigators that he was present in Delhi on July 24, 25 and 26, confirming the earlier reports that he stayed at different places in Delhi between July 24 and 27.
Abu Bashir, a madarsa teacher from the Azamgarh district of UP, was being interrogated by the Gujarat crime branch officials since his arrest in connection with the Ahmedabad blasts.
The intelligence officials suspect that Bashir, believed to be a close ally of Taufeeq, has played a major role in the Delhi serial blasts and might reveal some important clues about him.
Meanwhile, Mufti Abu Bashir and 10 others suspected in the blast have been under custody since the serial blasts occurred in Ahmedabad.
Abu Bashir was arrested by the Gujarat crime branch in August in connection with the Ahmedabad blasts that claimed 55 lives.
His brother, Abu Zar, was working as a parking attendant in Old Delhi.
An entry in Bashir’s diary mentioned Abdul Rashid Agwan, who runs several NGOs. Agwan, who had been questioned at length earlier, has denied any knowledge of the cleric.
“We need to corroborate his interrogation report and his physical presence will help us to establish a few other facts like his contacting an NGO and publishing house in Delhi for financial assistance. These leads will help the investigation into Saturday’s serial blasts,” said a senior police officer.
After Bashir’s interrogation, the cops might seek remand of Safdor Nagori, arrested by MP police in Indore in March this year.
Nagori is also wanted in connection with a case of unlawful activities registered against banned students’ outfit (SIMI) in 2001.
Nagori was the general secretary of the organisation at the time. The Delhi Police had applied for Nagori’s remand earlier as well after his arrest in Indore, but both times they were turned down by the court.
Sources say that Bashir and Nagori will be jointly interrogated and could throw up some vital leads into the investigations.
The next chain into the blasts leads to Shahbaz Husain, a Lucknow-based businessman, arrested for his hand in the Jaipur blasts. He too is being questioned by the Jaipur police about the Delhi blasts.
Meanwhile, the five sketches of three bombers released by the police on Tuesday, received a huge response. The police received hundreds of calls from the public about the suspected bombers.
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