JMB member wanted in 2013 Bodh Gaya blasts, arrested from Chennai

The Kolkata Police arrested a Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) member, wanted in connection with the 2013 Bodh Gaya blast, from Chennai’s Thoraipakkam in the early hours of Tuesday.

Asadullah Sheikh alias Raja (35), a resident of Nityanandapur village in Burdwan in West Bengal, was arrested by the Special Task Force of the Kolkata Police based on a tip off.

He is believed to have absconded after the blast and moved to Chennai where he rented a house in AA Nagar in Thoraipakkam. According to police, he is said to be the mastermind of the 2013 Bodh Gaya blasts.

Asadullah was produced before a court and after getting a transit remand, he was taken to West Bengal for further probe.

Five people, including two Buddhist monks, were injured when 10 bombs exploded in and around the Mahabodhi Temple complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Bodh Gaya, on July 7, 2013, while three other explosive devices were defused by bomb-disposal squads.

The STF team had earlier arrested Mohammed Abdul Kashem alias Kashem (22) of Canal East Road in North Kolkata in connection with the blast case.

Kashem is said to have gotten instructions from his chief whom he met in Kolkata in connection with the terror attack. He is still under Kolkata police custody.

The Centre had banned Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) in May this year as a terrorist organisation.