Suspect arrested in connection with Hyderabad bombings
Suspect arrested in connection with Hyderabad bombings. — Photo by AFP

NEW DELHI: Indian police on Monday said that they had made their first arrest in connection with last month's twin bombings which killed 16 people in the southern city of Hyderabad.

An official from the National Investigating Agency (NIA), a federal police unit that probes terror offences, said the suspect was arrested in the eastern Indian city of Ranchi.

“A NIA team arrested Manzar Imam in Ranchi in connection with the Hyderabad blasts,” the official told AFP in New Delhi. He asked to remain unnamed and gave no further details.

Senior Ranchi police officer, Vipul Shukla said the NIA had also been hunting for the man in connection with a string of bombings in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad which claimed 56 lives in 2008.

“He would be taken to the southern state of Kerala for interrogation by the NIA and Intelligence Bureau,” Shukla told AFP by telephone from Ranchi.

As well as the 16 deaths, some 117 were also injured when two bombs exploded on February 21 in a mainly Hindu district in Hyderabad, a hub of India's computing industry in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

Newspapers have pointed the finger at the Indian Mujahideen, a shadowy militant group which has claimed responsibility for previous attacks but is seen by some experts as being simply a loose network of extremists.

Opinion

Editorial

‘Source of terror’
Updated 29 Mar, 2024

‘Source of terror’

It is clear that going after militant groups inside Afghanistan unilaterally presents its own set of difficulties.
Chipping in
29 Mar, 2024

Chipping in

FEDERAL infrastructure development schemes are located in the provinces. Most such projects — for instance,...
Toxic emitters
29 Mar, 2024

Toxic emitters

IT is concerning to note that dozens of industries have been violating environmental laws in and around Islamabad....
Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...