Absconding Mumbai blast convict Jalees Ansari arrested in Kanpur

Police on Friday (January 17) arrested a 68-year-old convict of the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case a day after he went missing while being parole. Jalees Ansari, the convict, was arrested when he was coming out from a mosque in Kanpur and has been brought to Lucknow, police said.

Addressing reporters after Ansari’s arrest, Uttar Pradesh DGP OP Singh said, “It’s a big achievement for UP Police. Ansari has been arrested when he was coming out from a mosque in Kanpur and has been brought to Lucknow.”

Ansari, a resident of Agripada, is serving a life term and is suspected to be involved in many bomb blast cases across the country, an official said. He was on parole for 21 days from the Ajmer Central Prison, Rajasthan, and was expected to surrender before prison authorities on Friday, he said.

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During the parole period, he was ordered to visit the Agripada Police Station every day between 10.30 am and 12 pm to mark his attendance, he said. However, Ansari did not visit the police station on Thursday during the designated time, the official said.

In the afternoon, his 35-year-old son Jaid Ansari approached the police station with a complaint about his “missing” father, he said. According to the complaint, Jalees Ansari woke up in the early hours and told family members he is going to offer namaz, but did not return home. On his complaint, the Agripada Police registered a missing case, he said.

The Crime Branch of the Mumbai Police and the Maharashtra ATS soon launched a massive manhunt to trace him, he said.

Jalees, who is known as Doctor Bomb, was allegedly connected with terror outfits like SIMI and Indian Mujahideen and taught terror groups how to make bombs, he said. He was also questioned by the NIA in 2011 in connection with the 2008 bomb blast in Mumbai, he said.

(With inputs from agencies)