Police release suspects' sketch

Seven hours after a high-intensity bomb blast outside the Delhi High Court rocked the Capital, Delhi Police released sketches of two persons suspected of planting the bomb.

Seven hours after a high-intensity bomb blast outside the Delhi High Court rocked the Capital, Delhi Police released sketches of two persons suspected of planting the bomb. Eleven people were killed and 76 injured when the bomb, probably kept inside a briefcase, went off at the reception office of gate number 5.

The sketches of the two suspects - one believed to be in his 50s and the other in his mid-20s - were prepared following descriptions provided by eyewitnesses who claimed that they saw someone with a briefcase standing in the queue.

"We have released sketches of two suspects based on the descriptions given by eyewitnesses," a senior police officer said. The younger of the two suspects could be a couple of inches shorter than 6feet with a middle parting of the hair, while the other man was described as stout and having a light beard and shallow complexion. "We may also release a third sketch, depending on eyewitness accounts," added the officer.

Investigators are hoping that sketches of the suspects would help them get some clues in the case.

But if some officers in the Delhi Police are to be believed, the chances of the portrait matching with the real perpetrators are thin.

Asked on what basis they believe this likelihood, a senior police officer said on condition of anonymity, "There have been cases in the past, in which portraits of the suspects, which were prepared on descriptions given by eyewitnesses, did not match original culprits. Portraits can be considered useful in a case but their authenticity is always questionable."