Indian police make bomb attacks arrest

Indian investigators have made their first breakthrough in the investigation into the October 29 New Delhi bombings, linking the attacks to Kashmiri rebel groups, intelligence officials said today.

The army arrested a suspected Kashmiri militant who implicated himself in the bombings, which killed 60 people, during his “sustained interrogation,” a senior intelligence official said.

The suspect told investigators that he had been a member of Hizb-ul Mujahedeen, a militant organisation fighting Indian security forces in India’s portion of Kashmir, but had recently joined the Pakistani-based Lashkar-e-Tayyaba group, said the official.

Lashkar was widely believed to have been behind the attacks, but denied any involvement, saying it does not target civilians.

A little-known Kashmiri group, Islamic Inquilab Mahaz, claimed responsibility for the attacks.

The official said the interrogation was recorded on video, but provided no further details.

The suspect was arrested on Sunday in Jammu-Kashmir state and handed over to New Delhi police last night, the official said.

Accrding to The Hindu newspaper, the suspect told interrogators he helped scout the location of one of the blasts and that the attacks, which targeted two crowded markets and a bus, were a combined operation by several Kashmiri rebel groups.

The suspect reportedly said he was recruited because he was familiar with New Delhi.

He said he was contacted by three Lashkar operatives, including two Kashmiris, who scouted out crowded markets before hiring an auto-rickshaw and planting the bomb in the Paharganj market, the report said.

The newspaper was vague about whether the suspect accompanied them to Paharganj or only found out about it secondhand.

Islamic rebel groups have been fighting since 1989 for independence for the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir from predominantly Hindu India, or its merger with Muslim-majority Pakistan. More than 66,000 people have been killed in the fighting.

India has often accused Pakistan of aiding and arming the militants at training camps on the Pakistani side of Kashmir – a charge Pakistan denies.

Both countries claim all of Kashmir and have fought two wars over the Himalayan territory, which is divided between them by a ceasefire line.

However, ties between the neighbours have improved following a peace process that began early last year, and also in the wake of the massive October 8 earthquake that struck Kashmir

Both sides have stepped up co-operation to provide relief to the victims.