Bashr was arrested earlier, say villagers

Lucknow:Mufti Abdul Bashr, the alleged mastermind behind the July 26 serial blasts in Ahmedabad, has been in police custody but people from his village contest police claims on when and from where he was arrested.

Police on Saturday said Bashr was arrested from Lucknow the same day, but people from Bashr's village in Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh said he had been arrested two days earlier and that he was caught from their village.

"It was not August 16. Bashr was arrested two days before, on August 14, from here and not from Lucknow," Mohammad Shahid, the Binapara village head, said.

"Soon after the arrest, as we went to meet Bahr's father, we realised the jewellery and money were missing," he said.

Police declined to comment on the allegations.