'Don't link Bihar with perpetrators of 13/7 blasts'

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has strongly objected to linking Bihar with terrorists involved in 13/7 serial blasts in Mumbai.

"It is not proper to link Bihar with the terrorists involved in 13/7 serial blasts in Mumbai. Bihar should not be blamed for terrorists involved in 13/7 serial blasts in Mumbai. It is wrong to do so," Nitish Kumar told newspersons in Patna on Tuesday. The chief minister was reacting to comments made by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray that the arrests made in the case exposed Bihar's connection with the 13/7 attack.

Nitish Kumar said that a criminal or terrorists has nothing to do with any religion, caste or place.

He said that the Bihar government is ready to help investigations into the case. "The police and other agencies have to thoroughly investigate the case before making statements that people involved in Mumbai blasts were from Bihar," he said.

Raj Thackeray on Tuesday said that he has been saying that due to the influx of north Indians to Mumbai city, terror activities were on the rise. "The arrest of terrorists hailing from Bihar on Monday in the 13/7 serial blasts case has confirmed my claim," Thackeray said.

"The Bihar connection in 13/7 case has been exposed. Will someone pay attention towards it or not? I don't know why a fuss is made over my statements," Raj Thackeray said.

Maharashtra Anit-Terrorism Squad on Monday claimed to have made a major breakthrough in the July 13 triple blasts case of last year that claimed 27 lives.

Naqi Ahmed Wasi Ahmed Sheikh, 22, and Nadeem Akhtar Ashfaq Sheikh, 23, were arrested on January 12 but the mastermind of the crime Yasin Bhatkal, a top Indian Mujahideen operative, and the planters of the IEDs used in the blasts are still evading arrest, Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Rakesh Maria told reporters.

Maria said that while Naqi came to Mumbai in September 2010, Nadeem, from Bihar's Darbhanga district, was living in Antop Hill area of the city.