The Hyderabad Police on Friday said Rizwan Ghazi, a 23-year-old Bangladeshi national, has been arrested on various charges including illegal stay, using fake documents to gain an Indian identity and waging war against the nation.

Though Ghazi was initially said to be a key link in the investigation of cases related to the bomb blasts at Mecca Masjid on May 18 and at Lumbini Park on August 25, the Hyderabad Police did not connect him to the blasts when they produced him in court on Friday.

Ghazi’s name was linked to the terror probe after his Kishanbagh home was searched by the police on the basis of intelligence reports soon after the August 25 blasts.

His sister Shafia Rafsanjani, a student at Vellore, was picked up on September 1 from the house when she reportedly came visiting. She has also been accused of staying in the country illegally.

Ghazi reportedly landed in the police net around the same time as his sister but the Hyderabad Police had been maintaining that he had given them the slip.

“It is still early to rule out his role in the blasts case. He has stayed in the country illegally for six years. He has obtained an election ID card, driving licence and ration card using forged documents. He has been charged under the Passport Act for obtaining an Indian passport with the other documents,” Assistant Commissioner of Police (Charminar area) B Reddana said.

“A man called Masiluddin who lived with Ghazi, and who left Hyderabad soon after the May 18 blasts, is of interest to us and as a result Ghazi too. We would like to know where he has gone and his antecedents,” a senior police official said.

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