A 50-year-old US citizen of Indian origin, wanted in connection with a fraud running into multi-million dollars, was arrested at international airport here pending an Interpol red corner notice, police said today.
Salim Karimi was detained on December 26 by immigration officials pending the notice against him since early this year.
Sahar police station, which deals with airport cases, later handed him over to crime branch for further investigation, a senior police officer said.
In the Interpol parlance, a "red corner" notice is issued to seek the location and arrest of a person wanted by a judicial jurisdiction or an international tribunal with a view to his/her extradition.
Karimi has been on run since 2010 after California government launched a probe against him in a multi-million dollar scam.
DCP (Detection) Dhananjay Kulkarni said, "The accused is at present in judicial custody and the CBI, which is the nodal agency for extradition cases, will look into the matter and take appropriate steps".
The Interpol Liaison Officer (ILO) of Mumbai's crime branch would help the CBI to complete paperwork from state's side in the case, he said.
"The CBI would take the custody of the accused by seeking permission from court," the DCP added.
Police had even brought two suspects from Patna, who were
charged with the serial blasts at Narendra Modi's Hunkar rally in 2013 in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, for investigation in connection with the Church Street blast.
NIA said it has learnt that he wanted to plant bomb inside the Coconut Grove Bar & Restaurant but was deterred by the presence of staff and hence planted it outside near the wall.
"He had done so as per his handler's instruction who had informed him about the probable visit of an Israeli delegation to the said cafe for dinner that night," NIA said.
In preliminary examination, he had disclosed that his handler had taught him the technique of making the bomb for which he procured the material locally, it added.
Stating that as per the available information, Afridi is also suspected to be involved in 2008 Ahmedabad blast cases, NIA said "He is considered to be a close associate of several top SIMI leaders who are absconding."
During search of his residence is Bengaluru, the investigators recovered a lot of anti-semitic hate literature, it added.
The investigation agency has also said that he has confessed his role in setting fire to Israeli Visa Centre in Bengaluru in November, 2015.
It said IED used in the blast is similar to the ones used in Gandhi Maidan blasts of Patna in October, 2013, Bangalore Guwahati express Train blast in Chennai in May, 2014 and Roorkee blast of December 2014.
"The forensic examination of the IED used in Bangalore had revealed the use of Ammonium nitrate, Sulphur and Potassium Chlorate in the explosive mixture used in preparation of IED, packed in a iron pipe.
