KARACHI, May 21: Police on early Friday morning picked up two more policemen in connection with the Hydri mosque blast, which claimed many lives.

So far no one had been formally charged in the case, but a number of suspects had been involved in investigation, a senior police official conducting a probe into the case said.

He told Dawn that constable Sarfaraz, who was posted at the Central Police Office and constable Babar, posted at Risala police station, were picked up by the investigation police from Lyari.

"They have not been arrested, but so far have only been involved in the investigation," the investigator explained. The two policemen were detained following a tip-off received during the investigation that they (policemen) might have links with the alleged suicide bomber or the absconding imam of a mosque in Baghdadi.

Fourteen people were killed and 96 others injured in a powerful blast on May 7, at Hyderi mosque, situated within the compound of Sindh Madressatul Islam. The death toll has risen to 22 so far as many victims, suffering serious burns, were getting treatment at different private hospitals.

The other character of the suicide bombing, Murtaza, a prayer leader of a mosque in Baghdadi, is still at large and police are conducting raids for his arrest. The police had involved 11 persons in the investigations, including four colleagues of Mohammad Akbar Niazi, the alleged suicide bomber and trainee policeman.

Later, the police picked up another batch of policemen, suspecting them of having links with the alleged bomber or imam. Apart from the immediate male family members of the suicide bomber, Akbar and prayer leader Murtaza, all the detained policemen had been released after interrogation, the investigator said.

Family members of Akbar further told the police that the prayer leader of the mosque had instigated Akbar for sectarian extremism. "We went to the mosque to question its prayer leader Murtaza, where we came to know that he had been missing since the explosion on May 7," the official added.

The police picked up Murtaza's father and two brothers for grilling. "We are trying to extract as much information as possible about Murtaza from his father and two brothers," an investigator added.

The sources said that Akbar Niazi, who had joined police in 2002, was sent for training in September, 2003, to Saeedabad police training centre. The sources said that Akbar was affiliated with the banned religious group, Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan and he had participated in 'jihad' in Afghanistan.

The police have also examined the record of Baghdadi police station, where Akbar was issued a character certificate. According to the police, the suspected police officials told the police that they had joined the force to provide secret information to their group.

An inquiry into the character examination of all the recruits, who had been trained in Saeedabad and Razzakabad centres, had been launched, the sources said. Referring to the back ground of Akbar, the investigator said his father had a fishing business and was well off, which ruled out the possibility that Akbar indulged in sectarian extremism for monetary gains.

A photograph from Akbar's documents, which he had provided for his appointment in the police department, was taken to the witnesses, who had been injured in the explosion and getting treatment at a private hospital, the officer said, adding, "these witnesses had earlier indicated about the presence of a suspicious man in police uniform.

We have shown the photograph of Akbar to the witnesses and they identified him as the policeman who was present in the mosque before the blast. The witnesses told us that the policeman argued with them when they asked him to go to the adjoining Sunni mosque, as he did not carry 'Khak-i-Shifa.' But he had asked them that if he, being Sunni, could not offer his prayers in a Shia mosque on which they kept quiet."