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India should thank Saudi for Hamza's capture

June 25, 2012 16:20 IST

Bringing Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist Hamza to India would not have been possible, had India not had the support of both the Saudi Arabia and Nepal police.

The questioning of LeT operative Ahtesham helped police get more clues on Hamza. He revealed that Hamza had shuttled between Nepal, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. The first of the intercepts came to India when Hamza had moved to Nepal.

An investigator said that he moved to Saudi Arabia from Nepal, and this information was passed on by the Nepal police which again was shared with Saudi Arabia.

However, Indian agencies say that he was not arrested in Saudi Arabia and deported.

"We had information that he was coming to India from Saudi Arabia and managed to nab him at Delhi," said an investigator.

India has been working closely with Saudi Arabia and Hamza's capture is just the beginning of the many operations that the two nations will carry out in the future.

"Saudi Arabia was considered to be a hunting ground for terrorists from Pakistan, but now that is likely to change," said an IB source.

Though, for Indian investigators to ascertain the identity of the man who they have in their custody, they would need to re-verify the 26/11 recordings they have in their possession. They would need to match the voice samples with these recordings before they can come to a proper conclusion about the identity of the man.
Vicky Nanjappa in Bengaluru