Patna, July 17: A person suspected to be involved in the July 13 serial blasts in Mumbai has been detained from a village in Kishanganj.

Both the hands of the suspect have burn injuries. A diary written in Marathi and three cellphones have been seized from him. He had disappeared from the village between July 10 and July 14.

Confirming the detention of a suspicious person in Kishanganj, director-general of police Neel Mani said: “The identity of the person in police custody is being verified. The officials of the intelligence bureau and other intelligence agencies are interrogating him.”

The DGP said the man in question was fluent in Kannad, Gujarati and Bengali. “He was staying at a village in Kishanganj district for the past one week,” he said, adding that it was yet to be confirmed if he had connection with any terrorist outfit.

Sources said the 30-year-old suspect, identified as Riyazuddin Khan alias Akash Sheikh, had been staying in the house of one Mohammad Mehtab Alam at Maheshpur village under Paunakhali police station in Kishanganj district for the past one month.

Alam has also been taken into custody.

Riyazuddin had introduced himself to the villagers as a building developer. He had disappeared from the village on July 10.

The villagers informed the police about him when he returned to the village on July 15 evening. As his palms sustained burn injuries, the residents suspected foul play and passed on the information to the police, who swung into action and picked him up on Saturday around 8pm.

The villagers told the police that the suspect was away from the village from July 10 to July 14. He returned to the village on July 15, two days after the serial blast in Mumbai, which claimed more than 20 lives and left several others wounded.

Deputy inspector-general (Purnea range) Amit Kumar said the suspect was frequently changing his statement.

“We are verifying his identity. Things will be clear after thorough interrogation,” he added.

During interrogation the detained person initially claimed that he was a resident of Gujarat and his father was Male Khan. He claimed that the name of his sister was Payal Begum.

When the police pestered him, he changed his version and said he was a resident of Barud in Madhya Pradesh. He had also given his domicile as Gujarat, Karnataka and Bengal on different occasions, he added.

The officials of the intelligence bureau, special branch and the criminal investigation department were interrogating the suspect on the Kishanganj police station premises till the filing of this report. Sources said he would be brought to the state capital for further questioning.

The Bihar police had sounded an alert across the state in the wake of Mumbai blasts. The officials of the Sashastra Seema Bal were also directed to intensify the patrolling on India-Nepal border.

The police were also trying to ascertain his links with the fake currency racket thriving in the bordering districts of the state.