Patna rail station bomber’s condition critical

The man suspected of carrying out the blasts at Patna railway station on October 27 continues to be in a critical condition at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) in Patna.

The man suspected of carrying out the blasts at Patna railway station on October 27 continues to be in a critical condition at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) in Patna.

Ainul alias Tarique was admitted to the hospital with splinter injuries to his brain on Sunday. “He is on life support and his blood pressure is fluctuating,” said IGIMS director Dr Arun Kumar on Tuesday.

Surgery has been ruled out due to the grievous nature of the injuries. A nail from a bomb that went off had entered Tarique’s brain. If doctors operate, he would bleed to death. There appeared to be no way, the splinter could be removed and relieve the patient from trauma, said Dr Kumar.

Tarique was referred to IGIMS from the Patna Medical College Hospital and was not accompanied by any attendant, said Dr Kumar.

The patient was unconscious and not responding to medication too, said the director. There was, however, no plan to shift him to any medical centre outside Bihar, added Dr Kumar.

Investigating officers were hoping to interrogate Tarique about the blasts if he regained consciousness. However, a diary found in his bag purportedly connects him to Tehseen Akhtar, the alleged mastermind of the serial blasts. This has led the Bihar Police to a terror module in Ranchi and they suspect a link with the Bodh Gaya bombings on July 7.

Tarique’s bag had two bombs in it when he was arrested by the police, soon after two blasts occurred at the washroom of the railway station before Narendra Modi’s Hunkar Rally in Patna.