The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officials, on Monday, arrested 36-year-old Sheikh Amir Ali from Nelagonda in Andhra Pradesh. Ali, according to the CID sleuths, is part of the banned terror outfit Deendar Anjuman and is allegedly involved in the church blast case in the city in 2000.
Ali, who was on the run for the past 16 years, was nabbed by the CID officials with the help of their Andhra Pradesh counterparts.
According to CID officials, Ali and the other accused in the case planted a bomb at S.S. Peter and Paul Church at J.J. Nagar, which caused extensive damage to the premises. So far, the CID officials have named and charge-sheeted 29 accused, of which 11 have been granted death penalty.
Ali is among the seven accused, who were on the run. CID officials said five out of seven absconding accused are from Pakistan.
