A 20-year-old man from Chhattisgarh allegedly planted an improvised explosive device (IED) in a music system speaker and sent it as a gift to the husband of a woman he was in love with, PTI reported, citing the police.
The accused, identified as Vinay Verma, had assembled the IED using online tutorials. According to police officials, Verma's Google search history showed “how to kill a person using a bomb without being caught by police”. The device was designed to detonate upon being plugged in.
Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai district Superintendent of Police (SP) Lakshya Sharma told PTI that six persons, including Vinay Verma, have been arrested in connection with the case.
How the plot unfolded
The conspiracy came to light when a suspicious gift-wrapped parcel with a fake India Post logo was delivered to a shop in Manpur village under Gandai police station limits.
The parcel was addressed to village resident Afsar Khan, the intended target. However, he found it suspicious and promptly alerted the police.
Sharma told PTI that a bomb disposal team was dispatched, and upon examination, a 2-kg IED concealed inside a brand-new speaker was found.
{{/usCountry}}Sharma told PTI that a bomb disposal team was dispatched, and upon examination, a 2-kg IED concealed inside a brand-new speaker was found.
{{/usCountry}}The technical analysis indicated that the IED was engineered to explode when connected to a power source. The electrical current would activate a detonator linked to the speaker's wiring, causing the explosion, according to the official.
Gelatin sticks were used as the primary explosive and the speaker's outer casing was to act as deadly shrapnel upon detonation.
The accused was in one-sided love with Khan's wife since her college days. After she married Khan a few months back, Verma allegedly plotted to eliminate him, Sharma said.
Explosive smuggling racket
Vinay Verma's arrest in the case also led to the police unearthing an explosive smuggling racket which supplied gelatin sticks to the accused.
Besides Verma, six other people have been arrested in the case. They have been identified as Parmeshwar Verma (25), Gopal Verma (22), Ghasiram Verma (46), Dilip Dhimar (38), Gopal Khelwar and Khilesh Verma (19).
Further probe indicated the explosives used in the device had been siphoned off from a stone quarry in Chhattisgarh's Durg district.
"This action not only thwarted a planned murder but also exposed a network of illegal explosive supply in the region," Sharma said.