'Rs 4 lakh added to Khan's account before blasts'

The Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad said on Tuesday that Rs 4 lakh was deposited in the account of Mulund explosion accused Wazhul Kamar Khan, a few months before the blasts in the metropolis during 2002-2003.

Khan, a suspect in three cases of bomb blasts in the metropolis, was arrested by the ATS from Kurla on Monday.

"On five occasions, a total of Rs 4 lakh was deposited between January 2002 and March 2003 as his 'payment' for his assistance in carrying out the blasts," an ATS official said on condition of anonymity.

Police suspect that Khan used the same money to set up his embroidery unit in Dharavi. Khan, a suspected activist of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India, was wanted in the blast in the first class compartment of a local train at Mulund station on March 13, 2003.

He is also suspected to be involved in the explosions near a shopping complex outside Vile Parle railway station on January 27, 2003, and at a Mc Donald's outlet at Mumbai Central suburban station on December 6, 2002, the ATS said.

The three blasts cases, which were clubbed together, are being heard by a Prevention Of Terrorism Act court in Mumbai.

Khan had been changing addresses for the last seven years to evade his arrest, the ATS said.

After the blasts, Khan had escaped to Balrampur district in Uttar Pradesh where his in-laws stay. He had also stayed in Madhya Pradesh for some time.

Khan started frequenting the city since 2006 as he started an embroidery unit in the sprawling slum locality of Dharavi, sources said.

"He used to visit the city on regular intervals but he always ensured that the address is changed. He stayed in Kurla, Goregaon areas in the city while his family lives in neighbouring Thane district," a source said.