It was the same Dr Salar who died in an encounter with UP's STF the morning after twin blasts at Sankatamochan temple and Cantt railway station in Varanasi on March 2006.

Saba-u-din was arrested by UP police alongwith six of his associates on February 10.

Sources in the STF said during his interrogation, he described Dr Salar as the “Pakistani Doctor” who took him to Jammu and Kashmir in the year 2002.

“Then he was in Aligarh for his study. Local links of LeT contacted him and arranged his meeting with Dr Salar. Salar motivated him and finally sent him to Pakistan for training,” said a source in the STF.

Saba-u-din allegedly told his interrogators that his sudden disappearance from Aligarh had led to an agitation. A report was filed with the police too. But the investigators are unable to check the veracity of the statement. “After six years, it is not possible to trace the General Duty Register, which apparently contained the missing report of Sabaudin,” the official said.

The man is a common link between the ISI and the LeT. “The ISI had trained him,” the officer said. “His bosses had all trust in him. Even Pakistani fidayeens work under him.”

Security forces had traced Sabaudin after intercepting the communication between two terrorists. It was the same communication that had led to the alert regarding the attack.

In the Rampur attack case, Sabaudin was to handle Rampur-based terrorist Mohammad Sharif, who had already received a financial assistance from the LeT for an operation in India. Sharif is a native of Badanpuri village under the Khajuriya police station of Rampur district.

He told interrogators that he had returned to India after attending training camp in Pakistan in 2002.

According to Additional Director General of Police (STF) Brij Lal, he had received about Rs 7 lakh through hawala to strengthen his base in India. “He purchased a truck bearing registration number HR-46A/ 4970 with the money. He sold it in 2004,” Lal added.

Thee truck was bought to prompt Sharif to visit Kashmir and supply weapons there.

“The truck was meant to enable him to make supply of weapons from Jammu and Kashmir to other places,” the ADFG Lal explained.

Sharif received about Rs 5 lakh for the second time.

“In 2006, he was called by the LeT commander Abdul Aziz in Dhaka. The commander asked him to report to Sabaudin to discuss further plans for carrying out terror operation,” ADG Lal confirmed.