Police arrest two more in relation to Mumbai train blasts

Police have arrested two more men in connection with Mumbai’s deadly train blasts.

It brings to eight the number of people seized by investigators since the explosions killed more than 200 people earlier this month, an official said today.

A senior Mumbai police official confirmed that the men were arrested late yesterday, but declined to provide more details.

The Press Trust of India news agency identified the two as Faizal Sheikh and his brother Muzammil Sheikh, and said police suspected they had links with the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, accused of several terror attacks in India, including the July 11 Mumbai blasts.

Faizal Sheikh is suspected of being a Mumbai-based fundraiser for the group, PTI said, quoting unidentified officials in the Anti-Terrorism Squad, which is leading the investigation.

Muzammil Sheikh is a software programmer based in Bangalore, the capital of India’s high-technology world, the agency said.

Hundreds of people have been detained across India since the string of bombs that targeted seven packed Mumbai trains during evening rush hour, and eight have been arrested.

Police and officials have repeatedly said Islamic militants fighting Indian rule in its part of Kashmir – specifically Lashkar-e-Tayyaba – were behind the blasts, and have said the attack is linked to Pakistan. Pakistan has adamantly denied any involvement.

Kashmir is a predominantly Muslim territory divided between India and Pakistan, but claimed by both nuclear-armed countries.