An Indian Muslim terror suspect evading the law for 17 years, has been arrested in Britain, and faces extradition to his home country to answer charges of conspiracy to murder and cause explosions.
"Tiger" Hanif, 49, is wanted in connection with two bomb explosions in 1993 in the diamond city of Surat of the western Indian state of Gujarat that killed an eight-year-old girl and injured 12 persons. Former Congress Party minister Mohammad Surti and 11 others were jailed for their roles in the explosion-related attacks.
Agents of the Scotland Yard traced Hanif, alias Mohammed Hanif Umerji Patel, last month to a grocery store in a village near Bolton, Greater Manchester, and arrested him February 16 from a house in Halliwell.
Hanif, who is believed to have come to Britain in 1996, was detained following an Interpol warrant issued at the request of Indian authorities and has been remanded to custody by Westminster JPs for an extradition hearing March 25.
The Surat police will contact the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to get Hanif to the city after he is extradited to India. Inspector G V Desai of the Surat Special Operations Group said that after the CBI got Patel's custody, they would apply for his custody. They hope to find out from the arrested person the whereabouts of other absconders--Salim, Lala, Ghaznavi, Faruk Surti and Rasul.
Meanwhile, Hanif's family members in Surat said that they had "disowned" him as soon as he was accused in the bombing, and maintained that he was not in touch with them ever since.
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