In a major breakthrough, Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal, key accused in Hyderabad and Mumbai blasts, was on Wednesday night arrested from the Indo-Nepal border after being on the run for over five years.

New Delhi: In a major breakthrough, Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal, key accused in Hyderabad and Mumbai blasts, was on Wednesday night arrested from the Indo-Nepal border after being on the run for over five years.

Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Home Minsiter Sushilkumar Shinde said the Bhatkal was arrested late last night and is currently in custody of Bihar Police. "Our intelligence sources led to the arrest of Bhatkal at the Bihar-Nepal border last night."

Shinde, however, refused to state which agencies were behind the arrest, but sources say it was an Intelligence Bureau operation.

30-year-old Yasin, one of India's most wanted terrorists, was picked up by security agencies along with another IM leader Akhtar, official sources said. Yasin is currently in the custody of Bihar Police where he is being interrogated. He will be later taken to Delhi.

Yasin, also known as Mohammed Ahmed Siddhibappa, along with three aides Tahaseen Akhtar Wasim Aktar Shaikh (23), Asadulla Akhtar Javed Akhtar (26) and Waqas alias Ahmed (26) were allegedly behind three coordinated bomb explosions at Opera House, Zaveri Zazaar and Dadar West in Mumbai on 13 July, 2011, leaving 27 dead and 130 injured.

The IM leader is wanted in a string of terror attacks in Ahmedabad, Surat, Bangalore, Delhi and Hyderabad.

In February this year, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh each to anyone giving information on Yasin and the three aides.

Except Tahaseen, who planted a bomb in the Dadar blast, the rest three were also involved in the four co-ordinated low-intensity explosions, which struck the busy arterial road in the heart of Pune city on 1 August, 2012. Eight accused had been arrested in this connection.

In December 2011, Delhi Police had also announced a reward of Rs 15 lakh for any information leading to the arrest of Yasin in several terror cases, including three in Delhi.

While Yasin hails from Bhatkal in Karnataka, Tahaseen is from Samastipur in Bihar while Asadullah is from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh.

Yasin, who co-founded IM in 2008 along with brother Riaz Bhatkal, is also wanted in the German Bakery bomb blast in Pune on 13 February, 2010, that left 17 dead.

The IM was designated a terrorist group by the Government under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act in June, 2010. the banned outfit was declared by the US as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation in 2011.

PTI