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New Delhi, Sept. 16 (PTI): Saudi Arabia has declined to deport Fasih Mohammed, the alleged conspirator behind a blast in Bangalore and a shooting in Delhi, to India without investigating his role first.
New Delhi had requested his custody. Riyadh conveyed its stand through diplomatic and security agency meetings within days of handing over 26/11 suspect Abu Jundal in June, officials said.
The Saudi authorities have confirmed Fasih’s detention and said they are investigating his role in the blasts in India and his activities in the West Asian country.
An engineer and alleged member of the Indian Mujahideen, the Bihar-born Fasih is alleged to have been involved in the Chinnaswamy Stadium blast in Bangalore and the shooting near Delhi’s Jama Masjid in 2010.
He is wanted by both Delhi and Karnataka police.
Fasih’s name had cropped up during interrogation of alleged Indian Mujahideen terrorists, arrested in the past nine months. An Interpol red-corner notice was issued against him this year.
National security adviser Shivshanker Menon said last week that the Saudi authorities were unhappy with the way the details of the Jundal handover were made public by Indian security agencies.
Menon underscored the need to maintain a high level of secrecy in such operations and not expose the countries that were helping India fight terrorism.
He advised that secrecy be maintained at all levels in handling cases of international terrorism as unnecessary disclosures have the “dangerous propensity of international embarrassment”.
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