Who is Ariz Khan – the man arrested in 2008 Jaipur bomb blast case

Jaipur: A special investigation cell of Delhi police arrested Ariz Khan alias Junaid for his alleged involvement in many serial blasts including the one in Jaipur that killed 78 people and left 180 others wounded on May 13, 2008.

The suspected Indian Mujahideen (IM) terrorist Junaid had been on the run for the past 10 years. He is the eight accused arrested in connection with the Jaipur blast case. Junaid was also wanted in bomb blasts in Ahmedabad, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. He was held from India-Nepal border.

Junaid was a resident of Mohalla Baz Bahadur, Koti Qila of Azamgarh, and was en-route to Uttar Pradesh to meet an old IM sympathiser when he was picked up by his team at about 5:20 pm near Banbasa’s Sharda Inter-College. Junaid was an expert bomb maker.

ADG, ATS Umesh Mishra said that Junaid will be brought to Jaipur on a production warrant. Three other accused are still absconding.

Rajasthan police had announced a cash reward of Rs 1 lakh on his head. After Batla House encounter in September, 2008, he alleged tried to take shelter at his relatives in Delhi, UP, Rajasthan and Maharashtra, but wasn’t successful. He then fled to Nepal and managed to obtain its citizenship. He became a teacher in Nepal.

He came in contact with another terror suspect Bhatkal in 2014 and then went to Saudi Arabia for allegedly meeting other IM terrorists and SIMI sympathizers. He returned and started strengthening the IM network in India.

Three other accused who are absconding in Jaipur blast case are Shadab alias Maliq, Sajid Bada and Mohammed Khalid.