Patna, Bodh Gaya serial blasts similar, IM link possible: Jharkhand police

Zee Media Bureau/Ritesh K Srivastava

Ranchi: With the probe into Sunday`s serial blasts in Patna gaining momentum, the Jharkhand police on Monday claimed that there is a strong resemblance between the blasts in the Bihar capital and the terror attack in Bodh Gaya sometimes back. Talking to reporters, SN Pradhan, ADG Jarkhand said, "The signature of blasts here resembles the ones carried out in Bodh Gaya." Pradhan further said, "It seems that serial blasts in Patna do have a Bodh Gaya connection. Timer device, a digital one, which has been used here of same brand that was discovered in Bodh Gaya." The Jharkhand ADG, however, said that nobody has been detained in Ranchi so far but the police are verifying each and every detail provided to it by the Bihar police and the intelligence agencies. Pradhan said, "It appears that not just 4 people but there were around 8-10 people involved in the Patna serial blasts," adding, "Preliminary evidence suggest that there is an Indian Mujahideen (IM) link to it." The revelations from the Jharkhand ADG came shortly after the Patna police claimed that those who planted the bombs wanted to trigger stampede to cause maximum damage. Talking to Zee Media, Patna SSP Manu Maharaj said, "The bombers have come in three teams. Each team had 4 to 8 members. They wanted to plant more bombs at various places and trigger a stampede so as to cause more damage." A number of low intensity bombs were hidden beneath the soil to create panic among the crowd, the Patna SSP said. The probe is moving in right direction and we have apprehended several people in this connection, the Patna SSP said. The forensic experts, who visited the bomb blast sites, suspect the use of ammonium nitrate and other explosives in the serial blasts here. The evidence collected from the blast site is being sent to laboratory for forensic examination, one of the experts said. The forensic team said that the shrapnel were found as far as 150 metres from the blast site, which implies the blast near the stage where BJP`s PM candidate Narendra Modi was present could have endangered his life. Meanwhile, reports also claimed that Gujarat intelligence officials have advised Modi not to address the rally in view of threats to his life. However, Modi turned down this request considering the large number of supporters who have come to Patna to hear him. Meanwhile, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who has ruled out any lapse in security, is currently holding an emergency meeting to review the situation. Earlier, the city police recovered Jihadi literature, pressure cooker bombs, detonators from the Ranchi residence of one of the arrested suspect, Imtiaz Ansari. The National Investigating Agency (NIA) has taken over the probe into the eight blasts that went off between 9.30am and 12.25pm that has left six dead and around 100 injured. Tens of thousands of people had gathered at Gandhi Maidan to hear BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, who proceeded with his address as schedule even as plumes of smoke billowed from a couple of explosion sites.` The probe agency is questioning Ansari on the wider conspiracy behind the blasts. Ansari was apprehended at Patna Junction railway station just after the first two bombs went off. As per reports, he was looking to plant some more bombs but panicked when he saw the police and tried to flee raising suspension of the cops who then arrested him. Besides Ansari, Ainul, Akhtar and Kaleem are among the 13 other suspects arrested in connection the blasts. Ainul was critically injured in the station blast and was initially believed to be a victim before it emerged that he was also part of the conspiracy. As per reports, Ansari has told his interrogators that the blasts were a terror strike orchestrated by the Indian Mujahideen (IM) to avenge the Muzaffarnagar riots. He has claimed that the conspiracy was hatched by Tehseen Akhtar, who is the right hand man of arrested IM mastermind Yasin Bhatkal.