Timer, RDX used in bomb found in Ghazipur, NSG tells Delhi Police

The bomb experts from the elite force destroyed the explosive device in a controlled explosion at the market by burying it in a pit, and had collected samples of explosives from the site for examination.

The improvised explosive device (IED) found at Ghazipur wholesale flower market last Friday was destroyed just one and half hours before it could go off, according to the reading on the a time device attached to it, the National Security Guard (NSG) has said in a forensic examination report submitted to the Delhi Police, officials aware of the matter said on Monday.

According to the officials, the IED found in an unclaimed bag at the entrance of the flower market contained RDX and ammonium nitrate apart from the timer device, NSG said in its report. (Raj K Raj/HT)

The bomb experts from the elite force destroyed the explosive device in a controlled explosion at the market by burying it in a pit, and collected samples of explosives from the site for examination.

According to the officials, the IED found in an unclaimed bag at the entrance of the flower market contained RDX and ammonium nitrate apart from the timer device, NSG said in its report.

The NSG on Friday indicated to the presence of RDX, ammonium nitrate and shrapnels in the IED that was stuffed inside a steel tiffin, and kept in a black bag. It was spotted around 10am outside gate number 1 of the market by a shopper. There were 4,000 to 5,000 people inside the market when the explosives were found.

Delhi Police investigators have said that the black bag, which contained the bomb, did not have any identification marks such as the manufacturing company’s tag or sticker.

“Investigators were hoping to get some clues from the bag, as the manufacturing company’s tag found in a laptop bag containing the low-intensity IED that had exploded at Rohini courtroom on December 9 last year helped the investigating team identify the suspect and crack the case. However, in the Ghazipur IED case, the bag did not have any identification marks,” said a police officer associated with the probe.

On Sunday, the police said that Mujahideen Ghazwat-ul-Hind (MGH), an al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group active in Kashmir, has claimed responsibility for planting the IED at the Ghazipur market. They said the group made the claim on a Telegram group, where it also claimed that “the IED did not explode due to technical glitches”. The Telegram message was spotted by the central agencies during the social media monitoring, and the information was shared with the Delhi Police special cell, a second police officer said.

“Our special cell sleuths are trying to ascertain the source of that Telegram message and establish the authenticity of the claim. It’s a tedious task because the message came through an encrypted channel,” the officer said.