MUMBAI, June 29 (UPI) -- Pakistan's intelligence service blocked a 2008 attempted arrest of Abu Jindal, who admitted to having a role in the Mumbai attacks that year, officials said.
Jindal, who was returned to India after being detained in Saudi Arabia, said Pakistan's intelligence service and army had a role in the Mumbai attacks, and he spoke of how Pakistani officials protected him, The Times of India reported Friday.
Jindal admitted to having a role in the Mumbai shootings and bombings following his arrest in New Delhi Monday, police said. While being interrogated by police, Jindal, also known as Syed Zabiuddin, admitted to working closely with Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, a founding member of the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Toiba and the alleged mastermind behind the November 2008 attacks that left 64 people dead and at least 200 injured. Jindal also admitted being present for LeT meetings and giving orders to the 10 terrorists who carried out the strike.
The Times reported Jindal was not detained during the raid and arrest of Lakhvi in December 2008 despite being spotted by intelligence and security personnel.
He reportedly said that as the attacks on Mumbai began he was in a control room near the international airport in Karachi and that Pakistani intelligence and army personnel were aware of his location.
Jindal later was asked to go into hiding and he left for Saudi Arabia in early 2010, carrying two information packets -- one for use in Pakistan and one for outside the country, the Times said.
Experts are scanning Jindal's e-mail correspondence and have recovered a cache of information, including "numbers, addresses of various module members and hideouts," sources told the Times.
