An illegal Bangladeshi immigrant and suspected accomplice of the hijackers of the 1999 Indian Airlines flight IC-814 was nabbed by the Thane crime branch police yesterday night.
Ayub Mohammed Nisar alias Mohammed Ayub Yunus alias Mohammed Fayyaz, 30, was arrested from Mumbra for also having suspected links with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence.
According to Thane police crime branch officials, Ayub Issar, a resident of Dharmapur, Chhatgram district of Bangladesh, had entered India on a tourist visa for a pilgrimage to Ajmer.
“His visa expired in December 2000. He had been hiding in Mumbra ever since. A forged driving licence and some incriminating documents were seized from him,” said Inspector Datta Ghule, who' led the operation.
Ayub was a lavish spender and a regular at ladies bars. “Interrogation revealed that he got funding through hawala channels. He made regular ISD calls to the US, Karachi, UAE and Bangladesh. Scrutiny of the calls records will prove his foreign links,” said Sub Inspector Hitendra Vichare.
Regional Transport Office agents
Imran Amanullah Khan and Praful Gandhi have been arrested for providing
the forged driving licence to Yunus.