Lashkar man held in Srinagar in Delhi blasts case

The Delhi Police today claimed to have achieved a major breakthrough in the October 29 serial blasts in the Capital with the arrest of a Lashkar-e-Toiba militant in Srinagar. Delhi Police Commissioner KK Paul said this at a press conference here.

He said the accused Tariq Ahmed Dar, 32, had visited Delhi in the first week of October when the conspiracy was hatched. A few days before the explosions, Rs 5 lakh were debited from the HDFC Bank account of Tariq in Srinagar from abroad, he said.

"So far, we have been able to find the names of Abu al Qama and Abu Huzafa (both of Lashkar-e-Toiba), to be involved in the conspiracy," he said.

The police commissioner said the money in Tariq's account had come from some country in the West Asia. He said the explosive material used in the blasts was RDX though not in its pure form.

The Lashkar's Srinagar chief and Jammu and Kashmir chief were involved in the serial blasts that killed more than 60 people, the police commissioner said. Paul said so far the investigating agencies had proofs that blasts were the handiwork of Lashkar-e-Toiba.

Among the conspirators, two were residents of J&K.

The accused, Tariq, who works as a sales representative in Johnson and Johnson company, was arrested on earlier occasions in connection with hawala dealings and under the Arms Act.

The accused had visited the national capital between October 4 and 6 after which he had returned to Srinagar to hatch the conspiracy.

"We are piecing the evidence together and we are sure to come out with more information soon," Paul said.