Police nab LeT militant with explosives

NEW DELHI, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- New Delhi police said they captured a suspected Lashkar-e-Toiba militant who was believed to be on his way to carry out attacks on a Hindu celebration.

Police said they captured a 27-year-old militant identified as Mohammad Aslam at a railway station in New Delhi. Officials say he was seized with a variety of chemical weapons, detonators and timers sealed in two boxes of candy, Indian newspaper The Hindu reports.

Authorities believe he may have been en route to help carry out attacks in the Western Indian state of Maharashtra as Hindus prepared for the Ganesh Chaturthi holiday.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said recently that he had "credible information" to suggest that LeT militants were preparing for fresh attacks in India, pointing to a growing number of insurgents trying to cross the volatile border with Pakistan.

More than 30 people were killed in recent fighting along the de facto border dividing Kashmir from India and Pakistan. New Delhi reported at least 14 attempts at illegal border crossings in the past month, twice the number recorded during the same period in 2008.

Police officials said Aslam was carrying an identity card from Kashmir when he was arrested.

Guerrillas linked to the Pakistan-based LeT stormed several high-profile buildings in Mumbai, killing at least 188 people in the three-day raid in November 2008.