Former Home Secretary R.K. Singh on Thursday said Yasin Bhatkal's arrest will degrade the capabilities of the Indian Mujahideen (IM).
"I think this is a major catch and it will degrade the capabilities of the Indian Mujahideen," he said.
Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde earlier in the day confirmed Bhatkal's arrest, and said that he is in the custody of the Bihar Police.
"Last night, Yasin Bhatkal was arrested by some sources of our Intelligence agency and right now he is under the custody of Bihar police and the interrogation is going on. Right now, I can only confirm this that he has been arrested," he told media here today.
Bhatkal, who has been arrested from the Indo-Nepal border, was wanted for his role in a number of terror attacks in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Surat.
Bhatkal, who hails from Bhatkal in Karnataka, was wanted in the German Bakery bomb blast of February 13, 2010, in Pune that left 17 people dead.
Bhatkal's arrest is the second major breakthrough for Indian agencies after the arrest of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) bomb expert Abdul Karim Tunda on August 16.
