Blast probe: bomb ‘switch’ located

Even as investigators try to piece together the clues to ascertain which terror group is responsible for Wednesday’s blast at the Delhi High Court which claimed 13 lives, they suspect the hand of a new module of Indian Mujahideen (IM) to be behind the blast.

Even as investigators try to piece together the clues to ascertain which terror group is responsible for Wednesday’s blast at the Delhi high court which claimed 13 lives, they suspect the hand of a new module of Indian Mujahideen (IM) to be behind the blast.

A-policeman-carries-a-wounded-blast-victim-at-the-RML-Hospital-in-New-Delhi-following-a-bomb-blast-at-the-Delhi-high-court

Investigators are also suspecting some of the 11 fugitive IM operatives, who were allegedly involved in the 2008 Delhi serial blasts, to have played a part in the attack.

Sources say, so far investigations have revealed the involvement of the same terror outfit that was responsible for the July 13 Mumbai blasts and the May 25 blast outside the Delhi high court.

Investigators have already confirmed that they found traces of PETN in the bomb that exploded outside gate number 5 of the Delhi high court.

Investigators said PETN is being used mostly by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir and the IM had earlier used it to make bombs.

Investigators are also of the opinion that the perpetrators of Wednesday’s blast were aided by their local conduits in carrying out the attack.

Suspecting that the prime perpetrators could have stayed in any of the hotels in the Capital before planting the bomb, the Delhi Police has asked 700 hotels located in central Delhi’s Paharganj area for footage from the CCTVs installed in their establishments as well as details about their guests over the past month.

Meanwhile, Delhi Police commissioner BK Gupta on Saturday said that investigators have found a switch-like object used in the bomb. “We are now trying to find out if a timer device was used to trigger the bomb or the perpetrators had used a remote to activate it,” said Gupta. Sources said that investigators are of the opinion that the bomb was activated with the help of a timer device. Efforts are on to trace the timer.

Gupta said they are also writing to the CISF director general and chairman of Railway Board to ensure that CCTVs are installed outside Metro stations and Railway stations. On Friday, Gupta had said they are requesting the mall authorities to ensure that CCTVs are installed in the facilities and that entry of the visitors is regulated properly.

Meanwhile, Delhi Police are also conducting mock drills in the city to check its preparedness and the response time of their officers. According to a senior officer, the special branch on Thursday had kept suspicious boxes in 11 different markets out of which 10 were detected either by police personnel or by local public.