Delhi Blast a View Part 1

It is a big post, so I separate it in Part 1 & 2.

Investigators tracking the Delhi blasts have realized that they are up against the best in the business. The three blasts that rocked the capital on October 29 were perhaps the cleanest leaving almost no clues serial bomb blasts in India. The police do not have a single lead to the culprits.

Synchronized bombing made the work of the police difficult. The bombs went off in three places, the police had to deal with too many other things than catching the criminals. They had to search for explosives at other locations, attend hoax calls, take the injured to hospital and also maintain order in other crowded parts of the city. The city went into panic mode, the terrorists made a quiet exit. Cell phone networks in blast affected areas Pahargunj and Sarojini Nagar were disrupted minutes after the blast. The Delhi Police had jammed the networks so that the bombers would not be able to contact their team members. Given that the lead-time the time the bomber had to escape after planting the bomb was suspected to be about 10 to 20 minutes, the police assumed that the terrorists were in the vicinity of the blasts. The priority was to prevent further incidents that night.

The Pahargunj and Sarojini Market are two of the most congested places in Delhi; it was difficult for people to recall having seen anyone suspicious. These are places where you have to wedge between the people in front of you to move on. The Sarojini Market and Pahargunj investigations seem to be leading towards dead-ends. The police believe the explosives were kept in a cycle-rickshaw in Pahargunj and inside a fruit-juice shop in the heart of Sarojini Market. In Govindpuri (third bomb blast area), the terrorists made a mistake. A third bomber (since the blasts happened in quick succession, it is believed that they were planted by three persons) had boarded a DTC bus and kept a bag on a seat.

When conductor asked him to take a ticket, the man quickly got out. Seeing an unattended bag on the seat, conductor became suspicious and took it to the driver. Driver, who saw wires inside, threw it out of the window immediately. The bomb went off, critically injuring him. The Special Cell sought the help of a passenger who supposedly sat near the bomber and the conductor to draw a portrait of the suspect. By then, three days had passed. The police admit the portrait is not accurate as none of the passengers or the conductor had a good look at the suspect.

Forensic science too did not help much in providing leads. Sources said that only pieces of the battery used in the detonators were found at the blast scene, though bomb squads from the National Security Guard scanned the area for two days. The explosive used is suspected to be RDX but police are not sure. Electronic timers are said to have been used.

Investigators believe that the blasts were… (Continue tomorrow)