Later in the day making a statement in both the Houses of the state legislature, Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde claimed that with the arrest of the ISI agent, identified as Javed Hussain Sha, the police had averted a conspiracy to carry out blasts in some key areas in the city.

According to Senior Inspector Suresh Walishetty of Crime Branch, Sha was picked up from Saad Lodging near Crawford Market early this morning after a team of officers kept a watch on his movements for 20 days. The police team recovered 11 timer devices from his room, which were smuggled into the country to engineer bomb explosions. The devices resembled small time-pieces, police said.

Investigations have revealed that Sha was a resident ofRawalpindi in Pakistan and had slipped into the country after crossing the border from Nepal. He constantly changed his hotels and had moved into Saad Lodging only recently.

The police were reluctant to disclose the name of his associates fearing it may hamper investigations. However, they confirmed that a dragnet had been spread to nab other suspects.

Joint Commissioner of Police Ranjit Singh Sharma addressing a press briefing in the evening said Sha was involved in the Jama Masjid bomb blast late last year. He was also behind the explosions at Kanjur Marg, Santacruz and Goregaon on the eve of the Lok Sabha election, he added.

Earlier on February 28, four suspects in the poll-eve serial blasts were arrested. The blasts had left four dead and 22 injured.