The Jerusalem Post

India arrests key suspect in 2008 Mumbai massacre

Indian-born Abu Hamza apparently was recorded talking to gunmen at Chabad center

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NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Indian police have arrested a man suspected of helping to plan a terrorist rampage through the country’s financial hub Mumbai in 2008 that killed 166 people, Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna said on Monday.

Indian-born Abu Hamza is a suspected member of Pakistan Islamist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, local media reported on Monday. New Delhi blames the group for the attacks that stunned India and shattered fragile relations with nucleararm­ed neighbor Pakistan.

Authoritie­s believe Hamza is the voice of a previously unidentifi­ed man who was taped speaking by phone from Pakistan to the terrorists involved in the Mumbai attacks. He is also said to have coached the attackers in speaking Hindi, according to the reports.

The 10 gunmen killed commuters, foreigners and some wealthy Indian businessme­n in the rampage, which included attacks on two luxury hotels, the city’s Chabad House and a train station.

Peace talks between India and Pakistan have resumed since the attacks, but New Delhi still suspects Islamabad of dragging its feet in bringing the perpetrato­rs to justice, a charge Pakistan denies.

“Let the Delhi police go through the investigat­ion first, and then they will send a report to the government,” Krishna told reporters, when asked how India would approach Pakistan over Hamza’s arrest.

“And then we will certainly see what appropriat­e... action can be taken,” he said.

A Delhi police spokesman said he was not able to comment on the case.

Some local media reported that Abu Hamza had been deported from Saudi Arabia and arrested on landing at Delhi airport. Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry was not immediatel­y available for comment.

Public prosecutor Rajiv Mohan told Reuters that the suspect would be held in police custody for 15 days for questionin­g.

A voice believed to belong to Abu Hamza was recorded talking to the gunmen attacking a Jewish center in south Mumbai during the three-day attack. According to The Times of India newspaper, he told the attackers to convey to the media that the “attack was a trailer and the entire movie was yet to come.”

India has repeatedly called on Pakistan to take action against Hafiz Saeed, the Islamist blamed for mastermind­ing the Mumbai attacks. In May, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton authorized a $10 million reward for informatio­n leading to his capture.

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