Two arrested over 2011 Mumbai blasts: Police

The accused were entrusted with the task of collecting the explosives and detonators, says anti-terrorism police chief

MUMBAI: Indian police said on Monday they had arrested two people in connection with triple blasts in Mumbai in July last year which claimed 27 lives.

The two suspects from the eastern state of Bihar are accused of taking orders from the alleged mastermind Yasin Bhatkal, who has not been arrested, and aiding with the attacks in two of the three locations.

"They were entrusted with the task of collecting the explosives and detonators used in the blast," Mumbai's anti-terrorism police chief Rakesh Maria told reporters, adding that the financial trail to fund the attack had also been detected,

The triple bomb blasts rocked Mumbai's packed gold and jewellery quarter, a diamond trading hub and the south central residential and commercial district of Dadar.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, which was the first in Mumbai since the deadly, high-profile November 2008 strike by militants that left 166 dead and more than 300 others injured.

Alleged mastermind Bhatkal has been linked by police and the local media in the past to the Indian outfit the Indian Mujahideen, which claimed a series of attacks across the country in 2008.