Seventeen years after he fled from the country, Feroze Abdul Rashid Khan, a key accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts case, has been arrested by the Mumbai police from a village in Navi Mumbai.
Forty-year-old Feroze, carrying a reward of Rs 2 lakh on his head, was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation which is investigating the case, the police said on Saturday.
Feroze, who arrived here from Dubai on February 3, was arrested last night from Kopri village in Navi Mumbai by the crime branch following a tip-off.
A close aide of absconding accused Mohammed Dossa, Feroze was allegedly involved in transport and distribution of arms, ammunition and RDX, which had landed at Dighy in Raigad district in early 1993 at the instance of mob boss Dawood Ibrahim.
Dossa and his men had arranged for the landing and transported the weapons, which, according to the prosecution, were used in the blasts, to different places for delivery to other accused.
Son of a retired navy officer, Feroze had been to Pakistan from Dubai to meet Dawood and had also attended the wedding of the mobster's brother there.
After the 1993 blasts he procured a passport in a fake name and fled to Nepal. From there he went to Dubai to work with Dossa, who had also absconded after the blasts.
Feroze came to India for the first time in 2004.
The police claim Feroze is a prized catch and is likely to throw light on the activities of Dossa and Dawood in Pakistan and the Gulf countries.
A series of blasts had shattered the city on March 12, 1993, killing 257 people and injuring 713. The trial in the case concluded in 2006 and the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) court convicted 100 accused.
Over 30 accused, including Dawood, Dossa and mobster Tiger Memon, continue to abscond.
The Interpol had already issued red corner notices and warrants against them.
