An arrested member of the banned outfit Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) has confessed to his involvement in the 2014 twin bomb blasts at Chennai railway station that killed a woman and injured several others.
Zakir Hussein (33) was one of the four arrested on Wednesday from Rourkela, after an armed operation in which ammunition and guns were recovered.
Odisha TV reports that Zakir during interrogation confessed to his role in the terror plot and named one Aijajuddini as an associate.
The associate named by Zakir was killed in a police encounter in Nalgonda, Telangana.
According to the Indian Express, a joint operation by police forces of Telangana, Odisha and the Intelligence Bureau arrested the team, which also comprised Sheikh Mahboob (26), Amjad Khan (26), Mohammed Salek and Mahboob’s mother Najma Bi (60).
Sheikh Mahboob, Amjad Khan, and Zakir Hussein were all wanted by multiple agencies ever since they escaped from Khandwa jail in Madhya Pradesh on October 1, 2013.
Police said they bought over 50 mobile phones and hundreds of SIM cards using fake identities in an effort to stay under the radar as police in over a dozen states hunted for them.
Each of the trio carried a bounty of Rs 10 lakh on their head. Their arrest could also provide answers to other bomb blasts between 2014-15.