Embassy car blast: Kazmi ‘told’ cops bomb was assembled in city

The outer periphery of the bomb used to target the wife of an Israeli diplomat in central Delhi last month was imported from Iran before it was "properly assembled" in the Capital, the lone man arrested in the case has allegedly told police.

The outer periphery of the bomb used to target the wife of an Israeli diplomat in central Delhi last month was imported from Iran before it was "properly assembled" in the Capital, the lone man arrested in the case has allegedly told police.

HT Image

Referred to as a 'magnetic explosive device' in the interrogation report of Mohammad Ahmad Kazmi, the freelance journalist arrested by the Special Team, one of the three Iranian men directly involved in the attack had allegedly brought its magnetic façade to the Capital days before the attack, sources said.

"Houshang Afshar Irani, the Iranian national who stuck the explosive device to the Israeli vehicle, had brought the outer casing of the device with him. It was then filled with locally procured explosives at a hotel in central Delhi's Paharganj," said a senior police officer.

On February 16, HT had reported on how the infamous 'sticky bomb' — which sent 42-year-old Tal Yehoshua's Innova vehicle up in flames on the afternoon of February 13, or at least its peripheral façade —was suspected to have been smuggled into the country in a flight.

The report had also outlined the police's suspicion that diplomatic channel(s) of air travel could have been abused in the process.

"Houshang Afshar Irani, Ali Meheid Sadra and Mohammad Reza Abolghasemi, against whom an open arrest warrant has been issued, are suspected to have entered the Capital on tourist visas along with a larger group of students and stayed at least at two locations in south and central Delhi," the officer said.

Meanwhile, Kazmi, through his legal representative, has levelled allegations of "mental torture" since his "daily interrogation is conducted not only by the officials of police but also by the officials of other agencies”.