2 more arrested for Mumbai attacks

NEW DELHI: Two more men, Tausif Rehman and Mukhtar Ahmed, have been arrested in connection with the deadly terror attacks that rocked Mumbai killing more than 180 people. Tausif was arrested from West Bengal, while Mukhtar - a Jammu and Kashmir police constable, was hand picked up by the Kolkata police, according to a Times Now report.

The duo were arrested by the special task force of the Kolkata police. Both Tausif and Mukhtar are believed to be associated with the SIM cards used by the Mumbai terrorists.

At least 37 SIM cards were procured from Kolkata and adjacent areas and sent to Pakistan in the last two months, some of which security agencies believed were used during the Mumbai terrorist attacks, a media report said. They apprehended that the procurement of the SIM cards were part of the larger terror plan.

Sources in the special task force specially set up to counter terrorist activities in West Bengal said, "So far we have been able to trace at least 37 SIM cards that were bought from Kolkata and its nearby areas within the last two months and were sent to Pakistan via Kashmir.

The cards were purchased mainly from Park Street in Kolkata, Basirhat in North 24 Parganas district and Santoshpur in South 24 Parganas district, the source said. The owners of shops from where the SIMs were bought were detained for interrogation.

"The cards were purchased in lieu of some extra money. We suspect that this was to create a SIM card pool from which three were used in Mumbai attack," the source said. The Mumbai police have traced five SIM cards used in the Mumbai attack of which three were procured from West Bengal.

Earlier, intelligence sources said they had intercepted conversations between Muzammil, Muzaffarabad chief of LeT operations, and a certain Yahya in Bangladesh. Yahya reportedly arranged SIM cards, fake id-cards primarily from western countries like Mauritius, UK, US, Australia. A Mauritian identity card was found on one of the terrorists shot down.