Abdul Qureshi's father welcomes his arrest, says 'courts will declare him innocent'

The main conspirator of the 2008 Gujarat serial blasts has been arrested following an exchange of fire days ahead of Republic Day, Delhi Police said today. Abdul Subhan Qureshi, co-founder of the Indian Mujahideen (IM) and linked to the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), was arrested from Ghazipur in east Delhi on Saturday evening. The Special Cell had information that he would come to meet an old acquaintance in Ghazipur, said P S Kushwah, deputy commissioner of police (Special Cell). Qureshi, 46, was being followed by teams of the Special Cell and other intelligence agencies.He had been living in Nepal under a fake identity and had gone to Saudi Arabia between 2015-2017, Kushwah said at a press conference. Usman Qureshi, father of terror suspect Abdul Qureshi has applauded the arrest of his son. He however believes that his son is innocent and now after thorough probe, 'courts will declare him innocent', said Abdul Qureshi. Abdul Qureshi currently resides Nayanagar area of Mira Road, in outskirts of Mumbai. Abdul Subhan Qureshi who was editor of the SIMI magazine, was described as a good organiser. His name had also cropped up in investigations into the serial blasts in Mumbai and Bangalore, the official said. More than 50 persons were killed when 20 blasts ripped through Gujarat's main city Ahmedabad on July 26, 2008. The Indian Mujahideen had taken responsibility for the blasts at the time. Arrested 2008 Gujarat bomb blast mastermind Abdul Subhan Qureshi was trying to revive the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and Indian Mujahideen (IM) in four states, said Delhi police on Monday.Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Pramod Kushwaha said Qureshi was trying to revive IM and SIMI in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. The police clarified that the terrorist was not planning to carry out terror activities in Delhi. "We had information that Qureshi would come to meet an old associate in the Ghazipur area. Acting on the information, a Special Cell team arrested Qureshi on the night of January 20 from Ghazipur area in Uttar Pradesh after a brief exchange of fire," said Kushwaha. With agency inputs