Jamaat member arrested in Jharkhand in Bodh Gaya blast case

Kolkata, Aug 8 (IANS) The Special Task Force of Kolkata Police on Wednesday arrested a member of the terror outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) from Jharkhand for his involvement in the Bodh Gaya explosion.

"Dilwar Hasan alias Ali Hasan (26) was arrested on Wednesday from Sidhu Kanu More in Jharkhand's Pakuria police station area. He is a member of JMB and was involved in Bodh Gaya IED explosion in January 2018," Deputy Commissioner of Kolkata Police (STF) Murlidhar Sharma said.

According to the officer, Hasan, a resident of Malda district's Kaliachawk in West Bengal has been charged under various sections.

"A mobile phone, one Aadhar card, one voter ID card and a phone purchase bill was seized from the accused," the IPS officer said adding that the voter card appeared to be fake.

A low intensity bomb blast took place near Kalchakra ground in Bodh Gaya on January 19 when the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama was present in the town. A couple of crude bombs and a large quantity of explosives were also recovered from the place.

The arrest of Hasan took place a day after National Investigation Agency (NIA) nabbed JMB leader Mohammed Jahidul Islam from Karnataka in the case and seized electronic devices and traces of explosives from his house in Ramanagara area.

The NIA had arrested two more West Bengal residents, also suspected members of the JMB, from Kerala earlier this week on the charge of placing the IEDs in Bodh Gaya.