One held for Ajmer Dargah blast, more arrests likely: ATS

JAIPUR - The Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of Rajasthan police has arrested a person with links to some right-wing Hindu groups in connection with the 2007 bomb blast in the Ajmer Dargah Sharif, police said Friday. The ATS said more arrests would be made soon.

Three people were killed and at least 30 injured when a bomb exploded near the Ahata-e-Noor, a courtyard on the premises of the Dargah of Sufi Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti, on Oct 11, 2007.

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

Gupta, who was staying in Jharkhand, reached Ajmer to visit his ailing mother on the day he was arrested, officials said.

“He was produced Friday before the chief judicial magistrate in Ajmer who remanded him to 12 days’ police custody,” a senior ATS official said.

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

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

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

Sources in the ATS said Gupta might have links with a Hindu extremist group, but refused to name the organisation.

The ATS said it was expanding the scope of its probe and more arrests in this connection are likely to follow.

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

Police were able to trace the accused with the help of SIM cards recovered from the blast site, the sources said.

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