Accused in serial church bomb blasts arrested

After a 16-year-old man hunt, an alleged member of the banned Deendar Anjuman outfit has been arrested by CID sleuths in connection with the serial church blasts in the state in 2000, officials said.
Sheik Amir Ali (36), a resident of Nelagonda in AndhraPradesh, was arrested in Hyderabad last night, officials said.
Police were on his trail for the last sixteen years.
The intention behind the blast was to create rift between communities, officials said.
The serial explosions that rocked churches in J J Nagar and Magadi Road in Bengaluru, Keshwapur in Hubli and Wadi in Kalaburagi district, had created panic among people.

A special court in 2008 had awarded death sentence to 11 persons, life imprisonment to 12 and acquitted four others in connection with the case.
The outfit was also accused of involvement in similar blast cases in Andhra Pradesh and Goa.