One held for Ajmer Dargah blast

JAIPUR - The Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of the Rajasthan police has arrested one man in connection with the bomb blast in Ajmer Dargah Sharif Oct 11, 2007, police said Friday.

Three people were killed and at least 30 injured when the bomb exploded around 6.15 p.m. near the Ahata-e-Noor, a courtyard on the premises of the Dargah of Sufi Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti.

The accused Devendra Gupta, hailing from Bihari Ganj in Ajmer, was arrested Wednesday night, police officers told IANS.

Gupta, who was staying in Jharkhand, reached Ajmer to visit his ailing mother on the day he was arrested. “He was presented Friday before the chief judicial magistrate in Ajmer, who remanded him in 12 days’ police custody,” a senior ATS official said.

“He will be brought to Jaipur where he will be further interrogated,” he said.

The ATS said it was now expanding the scope of investigation and more arrests were likely.

“We have started our investigations. A few more persons are on our suspect list and you may see more arrests being made in the coming days. Our investigations are expected to lead us to other states too,” a senior ATS official told IANS.

He said that the main motive behind the blast was to create terror.

Another official said Gupta was under surveillance as he had links with some right-wing Hindu organisations.

Refusing to officially name the organisation, the official said Gupta might have links with a Hindu extremist group.

The official said police were able to trace the accused with the help of SIM cards recovered from the blast site.

Gupta had allegedly purchased the SIM cards for the mobile handset that triggered the blast.