Gujarat’s Rajkot police on Thursday said they have arrested three persons, including a woman, for allegedly making and planting a time bomb at a mobile accessories shop in the city that exploded on April 6, causing heavy damage to the shop.
According to the police, the reason behind the attack is said to be a business rivalry between two mobile shop owners.
It first seemed a case of a short circuit that led to a fire which destroyed the shop, however, an investigation by Rajkot police and CCTV footage has pointed out that the explosion was caused by a timer bomb hidden inside a toy car, said officials familiar with the investigation.
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“We have arrested three persons, including a woman for damaging the shop by planting a bomb based on the prima facie evidence we have,” said Bharat Basiya, assistant commissioner of police (ACP), Rajkot crime branch.
The accused were arrested under sections 436, 286, and 120B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections 3, 5 and 6 of the Explosive Substance Act 1908, said the ACP.
{{/usCountry}}The accused were arrested under sections 436, 286, and 120B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections 3, 5 and 6 of the Explosive Substance Act 1908, said the ACP.
{{/usCountry}}Those arrested have been identified as Kalaram alias Kalpesh Chaudhary, who runs a mobile accessories shop in Rajkot, his brother-in-law Shravan Chaudhary, and Doli, the woman who planted the bomb, police said.
Kalpesh and Shravan made a timer bomb using a mobile battery, electric wire, a watch and ammunition from a firecracker, police said, adding, the duo watched online videos for making the time bomb.
According to Bhavaram Chaudhary, the manager of Gujarat Mobiles, who filed a complaint at Bhaktinagar police station on April 7, a woman came to his shop on April 6 for purchasing a mobile phone accessory and left behind a package that appeared like a toybox. She did not return to claim it back, he said in his complaint.
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The woman was identified and traced by the police based on CCTV footage.
“There seemed to be a business rivalry between Kalpesh and the complainant, both of whom hailed from Rajasthan and ran mobile accessories business in rented shops owned by the same person,” said an official, adding that Bhavaram allegedly tried to take over the shop rented by Kalpesh and this seems to have triggered the incident.