Suspected in 13/7 blast, hawala operator arrested

MUMBAI: An alleged hawala operator, suspected to be involved in the July 13, 2011 Mumbai triple blasts, was arrested after being picked up from Goa airport, Maharashtra ATS said today.

The operator was suspected to be involved by ensuring the funds reached arrested Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal to trigger the explosions.

The accused Abdul Mateen Damada alias Farooq (50), against whom a Look Out Circular (LOC) was issued in 2012, was on Monday intercepted at Goa airport by immigration authorities, who informed the ATS, said Additional Director General (ATS) Himanshu Roy.

A police team then rushed to Goa, brought Damada to Mumbai and placed him under arrest in the blasts case.

"The accused was today produced before the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act court, which remanded him to the ATS custody till July 28," Roy added.

Damada had allegedly provided fundings for the blasts to Yasin Bhatkal from Dubai, police said.

Three powerful blasts had ripped through crowded areas in Mumbai on the evening of July 13, 2011, killing at least 21 people and injuring 141.

The first explosion had rocked Zaveri Bazar, a popular jewellery market, at 6:50 PM. A minute later, another blast shook the busy business area Opera House. The third blast ripped through the crowded Dadar (West) area in Central Mumbai at 7:04 PM.

Earlier, seven accused namely Yasin Bhatkal, Asadullah Akhtar alias Tabrez, Naquee Ahmed, Nadeem Shaikh, Kanwar Pathrija, Haroon Naik and Mohammed Qafeel Ansari were held in the case and are facing trial under MCOCA, IPC and other laws.