A picture of Karimullah from the Interpol files put up on the CBI website

Mumbai, Aug. 21: Mumbai police today announced the arrest of Sheikh Karimullah Khan, one of the 30 absconding Bombay blasts accused.

“He carried out a crucial function in planning and executing the 1993 blasts. He is accused of overseeing the landing of RDX on Shekhadi Masla port and transporting it to the Mumbra area. He also took the explosives to Mumbai and was involved in planting them as well,” joint commissioner of police Rakesh Maria said.

Maria’s crime branch team arrested Karimullah two days ago from Nalasopara in Thane where the 46-year-old, an associate of prime accused Dawood Ibrahim, had been “living under the fake name of Osan Khan” for two years.

Karimullah will tomorrow be handed over to the CBI, which is handling the Bombay blasts case.

Maria had headed the blast probe 15 years ago as an assistant commissioner.

“Karimullah was sent to Kathmandu by Dawood in 2006 to take care of some operations in Nepal before moving to India across the Uttar Pradesh border. He was reportedly living in Nalasopara for two years…. The police got a tip-off around five days ago about his presence in the Thane area. He was caught two days back and confessed to being involved in the blasts,” he said.

Karimullah, also known as Karim Bhai, has told the crime branch that Dawood Ibrahim is in Karachi and that Anees Ibrahim and Chhota Shakeel are based in Pakistan, Maria said.

He is multi-lingual and speaks Urdu, Hindi, Marathi, English, Arabic and Nepalese fluently. That is one reason he could evade arrest for so long, the joint commissioner added.

“Khan carries a reward of Rs 5 lakh on his head,” Maria said.

Karimullah, who has an Interpol red corner notice against him, fled India in June-July 1993 on his original passport, Maria said, and lived in Dubai between 1996 and 1998 before “returning” to Pakistan. The police said he stayed at Dawood’s Karachi house for sometime.

Of the 140 accused in the 1993 serial blasts case, 100 were sentenced last year while 30 were declared absconders. Prime accused Dawood, Anees and Tiger Memon were among them, as was Karimullah.

The 1993 blasts were the first in India in which RDX was used. The CBI has proved in court that the RDX came from Pakistan.