Key suspect in Advani pipe bomb case arrested

‘Police Fakruddin’, a key suspect in the 2011 Advani pipe bomb case and recent murders of BJP and Sangh parivar unit leaders, has been arrested near here, a top police official said on Saturday. He was arrested by the Special Investigation Division of Tamil Nadu Police on Friday, DGP K Ramanujam said.

Besides, the elusive suspect was also stated to be involved in the Bangalore BJP office bomb blast in April last and some other cases, he said. Meanwhile, a gunbattle is in progress with some persons, suspected to be involved in the cases, at a house in Puthur on the Andhra Pradesh-Tamil Nadu border, police said.

Asked about the incident, the DGP said he was awaiting information.SID of CB-CID Police, probing the murder of senior state unit BJP functionary Auditor Ramesh and Hindu Munnani leader Vellaiyappan, recently intensified efforts to trace four suspects in the cases and printed one lakh posters announcing a Rs. five lakh cash prize each for information on them.

The four suspects are — ‘Police’ Fakruddin, Bilal Malik, Panna Ismail, and Abu Backer Siddique, also wanted in connection with the planting of a pipe bomb on the yatra route of BJP leader L K Advani near Tirumangalam in Madurai district.

Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had ordered the setting up of the SID to nab the culprits in the murders of Ramesh and Vellaiyappan in Salem and Vellore recently.