Patna flat blast: Cops suspect bomb material came from Jharkhand

Police on Saturday produced Kundan Rai and his three accomplices Sugandh, Vicky and Kamlesh before Patna City court.

In its probe into the Patna building blast case, police suspects that the main accused Kundan Rai had procured bomb materials from Jharkhand but is not sure about the terror angle. The investigation into the incident has been veering around suspected involvement of Maoist splinter group PLFI, which is active in Jharkhand’s Gumla.

Police on Saturday produced Kundan Rai and his three accomplices Sugandh, Vicky and Kamlesh before Patna City court. Vicky, a Masaurhi (in Patna) resident, was arrested on Saturday. Kamlesh and Sugandh, relatives of Kundan, had hosted him when he was evading arrest. Two other accused — Hemant and Ashok, are absconding.

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Patna City SP (east) Sudhir Kumar Porika said they might send a team to Ranchi to find out if the bomb materials were procured from the PLFI-dominated Gumla. Police, however, said it had got no leads on the terror angle and there was no hint of an IM or a SIMI connection so far.

Even though bomb materials had similarity with those used in Gandhi Maidan and Bodh Gaya blasts, police have not got any definite clue on the mastermind behind the attack.

“Kundan’s interrogation will provide the lead. Detection of Lotus watch alone cannot help establish the terror angle. We have to know who controlled Kundan”, said a police officer, adding that the case was still open-ended.

Jharkhand ADG (operations) S N Pradhan had told Patna police that a Jharkhand team had been kept ready to help them. Patna police, on its part, told their Ranchi counterparts that they had not yet “crystallized information”.

With Deepu Sebastian Edmund in Ranchi.

Santosh Singh

Santosh Singh is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express since June 2008. Expertise He covers Bihar with main focus on politics, society and governance. Investigative and explanatory stories are also his forte. Singh has 25 years of experience in print journalism covering Bihar, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. ... Read More

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