Police have arrested three activists from a banned Islamic group, the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), for suspected involvement in the Mumbai train blasts last month, which killed 183 people and injured around 900, said a police spokesman on Tuesday. He said that the men were arrested from various areas of Nagpur in Maharashtra, and they were identified as Shakeel Wasi (32), Shakir Ahmed Naseer (27) and Muhammad Rehan Khan (32). SIMI advocates the idea of 'India's liberation' by trying to convert the country into an Islamic land, according to the South Asia Terrorism Portal website.
The men had been under surveillance since June when police foiled an attack by Islamic militants on the headquarters of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, a right-wing Hindu group. Fourteen men are now in police custody for suspected involvement in the last month's train bombings. Law enforcement agencies' officials believe that Lashkar-e-Taiba and the SIMI were involved in the bombings, but both groups have denied this. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said after the blasts that 'certain quarters' across the border had played a role in the bombings. Pakistan, however, denied the statement and offered help in investigations.