By Sahil Makkar, IANS,
New Delhi : A low-intensity bomb that went off in a crowded south Delhi market Saturday was locally assembled and did not have a detonator or timer devices – unlike the five bombs that exploded here two weeks ago and the ones that went off in Ahmedabad, Jaipur and other places in the past two years, investigators said.
The police said the crude bomb was placed in a tiffin box and two men riding a black Pulsar motorcycle dropped it outside the Anisha Electronics shop in the busy market in Mehrauli. The bomb exploded at 2.15 p.m., killing a 13-year-old boy and injuring 17 people.
“This bomb doesn’t resemble those that exploded in Delhi on Sep 13. The bomb also has no similarity to any of those detonated in Ahmedabad (on July 26) or found in Surat (in late July),” Joint Commissioner of Police (Southern Range) Ajai Kashyap told IANS.
Police officials said, except for the fact that it happened on Saturday, there was no similarity between this latest blast and previous terror explosions in the country.
Sep 13 was Saturday evening when five blasts – one in Karol Bagh market, two in Connaught Place and two in Greater Kailash – killed 24 people.
On July 26, it was again Saturday evening when a series of bombs rocked Ahmedabad, killing at least 56 people and injured 150 people.
The investigators say the bomb had no timer and detonator devices. They also ruled out the use of RDX in it.
The explosion left a seven-inch deep and three-foot wide crater on the road and damaged nearby shops and parked vehicles.
“Low quantity of explosive was packed in the bomb along with splinters and nails. We suspect that a small quantity of ammonium nitrate could have been used in the bomb,” a top Delhi Police official investigating the matter told IANS on condition of anonymity.
The timing of the blast and its location intrigued the investigators most.
“In recent past all bombs have been planted in crowded market areas either on bicycles, cars or in dust bins. But a bomb was never thrown like this before. It is quite disturbing,” the official said.
“Earlier, the bombs were planted in the evening to inflict maximum devastation. But here the bomb was thrown in the afternoon when fewer people visit this electronics market. Had the bomb detonated in the evening, the causality would have been much more,” the official added.
Moreover, in the past terrorists had always chosen important places and buildings to carry out strikes. “For the first time they have chosen a low-profile area. Though no group has claimed responsibility yet, we certainly believe that someone was trying to send some message or it could be an unintentional bomb explosion,” said the official.
Another officer added: “So far we have no knowledge which group could be behind this blast. Linking it to the Indian Mujahideen (IM) would be too early and speculative.”
The officials who spoke to IANS on condition of anonymity pointed towards similar, low-intensity bombs that went off in 1997 in different parts of the capital. The Bangladesh-based terror outfit Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) had then owned the responsibility.
The investigators also pointed out the similarity of Mehrauli bomb with those that went off this year in Lado Sarai and Chittaranjan Park in south Delhi. There were no casualties in those blasts.