Ahmedabad: Sayed Abdul Sattar alias Kala, one of the prime accused in the Godhra train carnage case, has been handed over by Mumbai police to the special investigating team (SIT) of Gujarat police.

Sattar was arrested by sleuths of Gujarat and Mumbai in a joint operation in Mumbai on April 9, a senior official said.

Sattar would be produced before POTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act) court seeking at least 15 days' remand for detailed interrogation, director general of police (Crime and Railways) A K Bhargav said.

Bhargav denied Sattar had any links with the assassination of former Gujarat Home and Revenue Minister Haren Pandya, as reported in a section of the media.

Interrogation has revealed that Sattar, who runs a transport company in Mumbai and migrated from Godhra, "harboured" several accused in the train carnage and primarily acted as a conduit for hawala transactions for activities in Godhra, Bhargav said.

"He was owner of New Eros Transport Company and had several godowns and offices, where we suspect he hid several of the accused. He also had strong links at Godhra and used to send money on regular basis via hawala channels," he added.

Bhargav said SIT officials were gathering information about Sattar's activities. He was arrested in Mumbai on April 9 night and booked under section 41 (D) of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

Fiftynine Ramsevaks were charred alive inside the S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express on February 27 last year when it was torched by a mob just outside Godhra station.

PTI