Dawood Ibrahim's associate Farooq Takla gets CBI custody till March 19

MUMBAI:  Fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim's aide Farooq Takla, arrested by the CBI for his alleged involvement in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, was today remanded in the agency's custody till March 19 by a TADA court here.

Mohammed Farooq Yasin Mansoor alias Farooq Takla (57) was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi at 5:15 AM today.

After questioning him at the agency headquarters in Delhi throughout the day, Takla was brought to Mumbai by the CBI and produced before the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act court this evening.

Seeking Takla's custody, CBI lawyer Deepak Salvi told the court that the accused was an active conspirator and a perpetrator of the bomb blasts along with Dawood Ibrahim, his brother Anees and others.

According to the CBI lawyer, Takla provided logistical support such as arranging tickets for accused Salim Bismillah Khan alias Salim Kurla, Mohd Hanif Mohd Usman Shaikh, Shaikh Ibrahim Shaikh Hussain, and Mohd Sayyad Mohd Issaq, and had received them in Dubai before the blasts.

He also arranged for their accommodation in Dubai from where they were sent to Pakistan for receiving training in handling of arms and explosives, Salvi argued.

Takla also arranged for the expenses of the accused during their stay in Dubai, the CBI lawyer said.

Later, TADA court judge G A Sanap remanded Takla in CBI custody till March 19.

Meanwhile, Takla's brother Mohammed Ahmed Mansoor, who was acquitted by the court in the blasts case earlier, said in the courtroom that Takla came to India because he had asked him so.

A total of 257 people died and over 700 were injured when 12 coordinated blasts rocked Mumbai on March 12, 1993.