Malegaon probe looks at western UP as cycle-shop owner recalls bomber

He and another suspect purchased a bicycle each from two virtually adjacent shops in Malegaon on the morning of the blasts. They identified themselves as Sumer Thakur and Badal Yadav. While Thakur gave his home address as Sangameshwar (a Malegaon locality), the other said his address was Bada Kabristan.

According to the cycle-shop owners, the two men appeared to be agitated while their bicycles were being assembled. On the basis of information provided by the shop-owners, investigators are sifting through phone calls made to western Uttar Pradesh on the day of the bombing.

The ‘man-from-western UP’ lead suggests that the bombings may not after all have a cross-border connection. Although the bombers called up local daily Dinkar before and after the explosion, the trail turned cold as these phone calls were made from a PCO near the local court in Malegaon.

Chances of Hindu fundamentalists being involved also seem remote as, sources pointed out, they do not have the capability to make sophisticated explosive devices such as those used in Malegaon. Bajrang Dal activists, arrested after the April 6 blast in Nanded, were taken to Malegaon for questioning and asked to identify the suspects whose sketches had been prepared.

The Malegaon device was a sophisticated timer device and the bombers carried the activated devices to the mosque. This is a quantum jump from the failed Nanded device which was being rigged through a “toy” remote.