Deported from Dubai, NIA arrests IM terrorist

A senior operative of the Indian Mujahideen, Abdul Wahid Siddibapa, was arrested when he flew in here on Friday after being deported from Dubai, officials said.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) took Siddibapa, 32, into custody at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. He was described as the financial brain of the terror outfit.

A resident of Maqdoom colony in Bhatkal in Karnataka, the former perfume trader was wanted on charges of conspiring to stage terror attacks at various places in India.

From Dubai, Siddibapa allegedly recruited young Indians for the Indian Mujahideen and funded their activities.

A warrant of arrest and a Red Corner Notice had been issued against him, leading to his deportation from Dubai.

The extradition treaty between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) came into force in 2000.

Siddibapa was wanted for his alleged involvement in the July 2006 Mumbai serial blasts, the 2008 Delhi blasts and the 2010 Chinnaswamy Stadium blast in Benguluru.

Said to be a relative of the now jailed Indian Mujahideen chief Yasin Bhatkal, Indian security agencies described him as the controller of the outfit's finances.

He allegedly routed money using both banking channels and the Western Union Money Transfer.

He left for Dubai much before the crackdown on the Indian Mujahideen started in 2008. He was detained in the United Arab Emirates and arrested in January 2014.

--IANS

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