The Central Crime Branch (CCB) of Bengaluru City Police on Wednesday arrested Abdul Saleem, in connection with the 2008 Bengaluru serial blasts case. City Commissioner of Police T Suneel Kumar confirmed the incident. The arrest was made in one of the forest areas of Kannur district in Kerala.

“He was part of the gang involved in the serial blast case in Bengaluru and was absconding. The case is on trial. We cannot share anymore details on the matter,” Suneel Kumar told TNM. This was an operation by the CCB, he added, and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) was not involved.

According to OneIndia, Abdul Saleem is suspected of planting the bomb at Madiwala. At the time of the arrest, Saleem was allegedly carrying explosives.

“He was under our radar for many years but was managing to evade arrest as he had flown to the Gulf. Based on a specific source information, he was nabbed in Kannur,” a CCB source told The New Indian Express.

The National Investigative Agency, the country’s premiere anti-terror investigative agency, was also on the lookout for Abdul, a suspected operative of the banned terror outfit SIMI (Students Islamic Movement of India).

A total of seven low-intensity crude bomb explosions took place between 1:20pm and 2:35pm  on July 25, 2008 in Madiwala, Mysuru Road, Adugodi, Koramangala, Vittal Mallya Road, Landford Town and Richmond Town, killing two people.

Police arrested an alleged SIMI activist identified as Sameer Sadiq within a week of the blasts for his alleged role. Investigating agencies then made multiple arrests in connection with the case, including the high-profile arrest of Kerala politician Abdul Nasser Madani in December 2009, following the arrests of two LeT terrorists from the Indian-Bangladesh border.

In 2016, the NIA and Kerala police identified an LeT member, KP Sabeer, as the primary accused in the case.