After grilling him for over a week, the police arrested Feroz Deshmukh, who they claim had led them to Faizal Ataur Rehman Sheikh, believed to be Lashkar-e-Toiba’s Mumbai chief. Faizal is now in police custody in connection with the Mumbai blasts.

Deshmukh, produced before the Sessions Court on Thursday afternoon, has been remanded in police custody till August 14.

Picked up in connection with the serial blasts probe, Deshmukh has, however, been booked in the Aurangabad arms haul case.

He has been charged under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

‘‘Deshmukh used to work at the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) in Dongri,’’ said Additional Commissioner of Police, Anti-Terrorist Squad, Jaijeet Singh.

But the public relations manager of IRF said: ‘‘Feroz Deshmukh is not an IRF employee. He works at an Islamic bookshop, owned by a relative of our chairman Zakir Naik, next to the IRF building. Deshmukh visited the IRF regularly to use the toilet and look up Urdu books.’’

Jaijeet Singh added: ‘‘We had some preliminary information linking Deshmukh to the Aurangabad arms haul. That is why he has been arrested. He has been booked under MCOCA as he is part of an organised criminal network.’’

Sources said Deshmukh, a resident of Mumbai’s Grant Road area, was closely associated with Raheel Abdul Rehman Sheikh—one of the prime suspects in the Aurangabad arms haul case—and two other Lashkar operatives Zaibuddin Ansari alias Zaby and Fayaz Kagdi. All three are on the run.

Raheel, who also lived in the Grant Road area, is believed to have provided fake passports to Lashkar operatives, and procured visas on the basis of forged documents which were used for travel to Pakistan via Iran.

... contd.