India Arrests Suspected Ringleader in New Delhi Bombings
By HARI KUMAR Published: November 14, 2005
NEW DELHI, Nov. 13 - A suspected ringleader in the synchronized bomb blasts that struck the Indian capital late last month has been arrested, the police said Sunday, asserting that the suspect has links to a Pakistan-based militant group, Lashkar-e-Taiba.
The three blasts, on the evening of Oct. 29, left at least 60 people dead and injured 210 others, mostly at crowded markets on the eve of important Hindu and Muslim festivals.
The Delhi police chief, K. K. Paul, told reporters here Sunday afternoon that on Thursday, the authorities had arrested Tariq Ahmed Dar, 33, a resident of the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir and an employee of a multinational pharmaceutical firm. Mr. Paul said that Mr. Dar had received a wire transfer of over $10,000 in his bank account from abroad. Mr. Paul refused to name the country, except to say that it was in the Middle East.
"Tariq Ahmed was the main coordinator, financier, facilitator and conspirator in these blast cases," the police chief said, adding that while Mr. Dar was not in New Delhi on the day of the bombings, he had visited the capital earlier in the month.
The police said that Mr. Dar was arrested earlier this year for illegal arms possession and having a large amount of foreign currency, in violation of Indian law; he was released on bail, pending a trial. The police also said that Mr. Dar had been working with two known Lashkar-e-Taiba lieutenants in the Indian-administered part of Kashmir, one of whom they believed to be a citizen of Pakistan.
Four other suspects, believed to have planted explosives at two crowded markets and a bus, are still at large. Two of the suspects are believed to be residents of the Indian-administered part of Kashmir, while two others are foreigners. The police did not disclose their nationality.
On Saturday morning, the Indian Army said its soldiers had shot dead two suspected militants in Kashmir. An 18-year-old youth was killed in the crossfire, causing protests by villagers.