Thursday, July 27 2006 12:35 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: Two youths suspected to be Lashkar-e Toiba operatives were arrested by police in connection with July 11 serial bomb blasts in commuter trains as Maharashtra government today said the probe was progressing at a 'rapid pace and right direction.'

Jamir Sheikh, a key maker from Worli in central Mumbai, and Sohail Sheikh of Pune were arrested last night on the suspicion that they were part of the LeT module headed by arrested unani practitioner, Tanvir Ansari, Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) sources said.

"Both of them are suspected to have undergone training at LeT camps in Pakistan on separate occasions," ATS chief K P Raghuvanshi said.

They were produced before a local court and have been remanded to police custody till August seven.



Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil said the probe was progressing at a 'rapid pace and the right direction' hoped that the investigations would result in nabbing all those responsible for the blasts.

"The State and Central agencies, ATS and Crime Branch were working jointly on the case," he told reporters here.

While not ruling out more arrests in the coming days, Raghuvansi said the six suspects arrested so far may be subjected to scientific tests, including the brain mapping and narco-analysis tests to find out more details on their role of in the blasts.

"We will take help of all scientific tests, but nothing has been planned so far," the ATS chief told reporters here.

"One more person from Bangalore, a software programmer employed at a software MNC, is likely to be arrested soon," sources said.

The software programmer is also suspected to have undergone LeT training, and allegedly imparted training to members of various LeT modules on how to use internet chat sites for secret communication to avoid surveillance of intelligence agencies, sources said.

"The programmer is among over a dozen persons who have been detained by police for the past one week and undergoing interrogation by a joint team of Crime Branch and ATS," sources said.

Meanwhile, the ATS chief rejected the reports as `rumors' that three persons had been detained from Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh connection with the blasts.



"We are in touch with police units across the country and so far there is no information of such detention from them," he said.



Khandwa Superintendent K D Parashar told sources that he has received a letter from the Mumbai Crime Branch informing that three persons from the town who volunteered to assist in the blasts probe have been taken to Mumbai.

"Neither can they be called accused, nor were they arrested or detained," the police official said.

Raghuvanshi said that picture about the conspiracy in the blasts was becoming clear with each passing day and the investigators were hopeful of reaching the culprits.

He said the suspects arrested so far were held on leads, although it was not possible yet to pinpoint their role in blasts.

The ATS, meanwhile, said it was still trying to identify the unclaimed body lying at Sion hospital.

"A DNA profiling has been done and we are waiting for the claimants," sources said.