M A I N   N E W S

Varanasi Blast
Man held at Mumbai airport

Mumbai, December 18
A man was detained at Mumbai airport today after an anonymous phone caller informed the police in the metropolis that he was allegedly involved in the December 7 Varanasi blast.

The anti-terror squad of Mumbai police informed the authorities at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport about the name of the person against whom a call was received, official sources said.

CISF and immigration authorities could not figure out the person but detained Suhaib Nadim Siddique, whose name was quite similar to that mentioned by the caller. Siddique, a resident of Thane district in Maharashtra, was intercepted when he was on his way to board a plane to Gulf, the sources said.

They said the ATS was quick to inform its counterpart in Uttar Pradesh but seemed to have backtracked later when nothing was found against the detained person during preliminary questioning. Siddique was detained from the check-in counter of a Gulf airline at the Mumbai International Airport.

“We are questioning him and checking his credentials. As of now, no link with Varanasi blast case has come out," DCP Satyanarayan Chaudhary said.

The blast in Varanasi left two persons dead. — PTI