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The bomb that exploded in a bus in Haryana Thursday, injuring eight people, was packed in a yellow polybag with Western Union and a couple of lines in Thai written on it. Examination of the bomb has also revealed that no shrapnel were used by the bomb-maker while packing it and that easily available firecracker ingredients — potassium chlorate, sulphur and ammonium powder — were used as explosives.
The bomb, as reported by The Indian Express Friday, has the signature of two similar blasts in empty trains in Panipat this year. Investigators believe they are the handiwork of the same group or individual. The revelations and circumstances of the blasts have got intelligence agencies worried as they are beginning to believe that the three explosions are just a trial run and that the people behind them may be planning something big.
They also believe that Haryana may not be the actual target of the group and the next blast, which may target more people with greater fatalities, may actually happen out of the state and, perhaps, in Delhi.
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The Haryana government, meanwhile, has formed an SIT to probe the blasts.
“Not packing bombs with shrapnel means that the bomb-maker did not want to cause fatalities. If he could get explosives, circuit, timers and assemble them, there is no reason why he would not pack them with shrapnel. Either the bomb-maker just wants to send a message or these are trial runs for a bigger attack in the near future,” said a central security establishment officer.
He said recovery of the remains of a polybag with a Thai message has further confused investigators. “These are crucial leads. The 12 Volt battery, which is similar in the three blasts, is also being examined for its lot number. The explosives seem to have been obtained from firecrackers. Hopefully these will lead the probe team to the people behind the blasts,” he said.
Sources said the intelligence setup also believes that the group or the individual behind the blasts is based somewhere near the Delhi-Haryana border area as all blasts have occurred in trains and buses coming from near Delhi and inside Haryana.
They said the make of the bomb is such and the hands behind them are so well-trained that a larger conspiracy cannot be ruled out. “These are not bombs assembled following a manual downloaded from the internet. The bomb-maker seems to have got proper training,” said an intelligence official.
Agencies are as yet not sure of the nature of the group or the motive behind the blasts but are sure if the men are not caught soon, a bigger attack may be in the offing.
On Thursday, a bomb kept in a bag exploded in a Haryana Roadways bus near Pipli in Kurukshetra district injuring eight. The improvised explosive device used was found to be similar to two bombs that exploded in empty trains in Panipat earlier this year. On May 13, an explosion occurred in an EMU train that reached Panipat from Delhi. On January 15, there was another low-intensity blast in a passenger train that was to leave Panipat for Ambala.
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