Indian investigators probing the background of Kafeel Ahmed, detained in connection with the terror plot in UK, are concerned at the "possible slackness" in the sharing of information by their British counterparts.
It is believed that Western agencies had tapped into Kafeel's chats in various Islamic forums on the Internet and his downloading of information on bomb-making, but this was not shared with Indian agencies, said sources involved in investigating Kafeel's activities in India.
The Indian agencies have drawn the attention of their British counterparts to a news report from London which suggested that Kafeel had met a top Al Qaeda operative over four years ago.
According to the report, bomb-maker Abbas Boutrab met the Bangalore-based engineering student in Belfast, where Kafeel was then a graduate student at Queen's University.
Boutrab was arrested in April 2003 and data found on his computer showed he had information on adapting ordinary electronic devices -- including a cassette recorder -- to detonate explosives in aircraft.
He was convicted of possessing information on bomb-making and sentenced to prison for six years.
Evidence given at his trial stated he was part of an Al Qaeda plot to smuggle bombs onto aircraft and detonate them as they circled over a major American city.
However, British authorities refrained from giving any direct reply to queries from the Indian side on this issue, the sources said.