A driver talks: 5 tourists left a bag in my cab

The police have launched a massive manhunt for five suspects, including two women, believed to be involved in planting the bombs in the taxi...

The police have launched a massive manhunt for five suspects, including two women, believed to be involved in planting the bombs in the taxi off Gateway of India.

The driver of the taxi, MHO2 R 2007, has told the police that the vehicle was chartered by two men, who told him they would need it for the entire day, purportedly for sight-seeing. They were accompanied by two women and a child.

The group got off the taxi at the Gateway of India this afternoon after driving from Bandra. They told the driver they would return after lunch . They left a bag inside the taxi.

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The taxi driver escaped narrowly because he pulled into a parking lot opposite the Taj Hotel and went for lunch. The driver of the cab that exploded at Zaveri Bazaar died on the spot.

The police, who have picked up the Gateway driver for questioning, aren’t disclosing his identity. They were also questioning other witnesses later in the evening ‘‘Statements are being recorded and sketches drawn,’’ said a senior crime branch officer.

Commissioner R S Sharma said, ‘‘It could be Lashkar or someone from the Dr Jalis Ansari group.’’ Police also arrested two from the Pune Camp area.

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