The Mumbai police on Friday arrested two more persons suspected to be involved in the Mulund bomb blast case and produced them before a special court, which remanded them to police custody till May 23.
Noor Mohammed Abdul Malik Ansari and Dr Wahid Abdul Jaddar, prime accused in blast case, were produced in burkha [veil] amidst tight security before principal Judge A J Dholakia.
Noor Mohammed was picked up from Malegaon and brought to Mumbai for interrogations, while Dr Wahid was arrested from suburban Kurla.
Altogether 11 persons were killed and few injured when a powerful explosion ripped through a compartment in a local train at Mulund railway station on March 13, 2003.
A total of eight persons have been arrested in this case. They include prime accused Saquib Nachan who was arrested from Padgah village in Thane district.
According to the police, Nachan is suspected to be an activist for the banned Students Islamic Movement of India and masterminded the explosion. Noor Mohammed and Dr Wahid Abdul are allegedly close associates of Nachan, the court was told.
Meanwhile, the police arrested Hasib Zuber Mulla for his involvement in the Ghatkopar bomb blast.
Mulla had been languishing in jail for his alleged involvement the Mulund blast. He too is suspected to be a member of SIMI and was produced before principal judge A J Dholakia who remanded him to police custody till May 23.
Mulla is the second Mulund bomb blast accused after Saquib Nachan to be arrested in Ghatkopar explosion. With the arrest of Nachan and Hasib, police has established links between the two blasts.
Mulla was arrested on April 17 and was placed in judicial custody in Mulund blast case before his fresh arrest in the Ghatkopar bomb blast case.
According to police, SIMI activists were allegedly involved in the two explosions. They had obtained weapons from the Lashkar-e-Tayiba militants and imparted training in handling of arms and ammunition at the hills surrounding Padgah village in Bhiwandi taluka of nearby Thane district.
About 2 persons were killed and 30 injured when a powerful explosion ripped through a municipal bus outside Ghatkopar railway station on December 2 last year.
Eight persons -- Dr Mohammed Abdul Mateen, Shaikh Mohammed Muzamil, Zahir Ahmed Bashir Ahmed, Imran Rehman Khan, Mohammed Altaf Ismail, Toufiq Ahmed, Saquib Nachan and Hasib Zuber Mulla -- have been arrested in Ghatkopar bomb blast case so far.
Co-accused, Sayed Khwaja Yunus disappeared from police custody on January six when a jeep carrying him to Aurangabad met with an accident.
On April 9, the police filed a 1,100-page chargesheet against the accused. Altogether, 191 persons have been cited as witnesses in the chargesheet. Police had obtained sanction from the government on April 5 to prosecute the accused.
According to police, the conspiracy was hatched in the room of Dr Mohammed Abdul Mateen, who was a doctor attached to the government-run J J Hospital.