Forensics in a fix

It8217;s been a week since the twin blasts shook Mumbai and the forensic labs of the country have not been able to give police the exact re...

It8217;s been a week since the twin blasts shook Mumbai and the forensic labs of the country have not been able to give police the exact recipe of the explosive used. From 8216;8216;confirmed8217;8217; reports on it being RDX and even PETN, now police say it was gelatin sticks. This is how the story on the explosives has changed.

August 26: It is PETN
8226; WHO CONFIRMED IT: The Intelligence Bureau IB and the National Security Guard NSG
8226; WHO BECOMES SUSPECT: Rich terrorist outfits Abu Nidal, the Palestinians and the Red Brigade. Rules out the hand of local outfits like SIMI.

8226; This one is being re-checked.

8226; Joint Commissioner Crime Satyapal Singh explains why. 8216;8216;High-grade explosives like PETN Penta Erythritol Tetranitrate and RDX fall in one category, so there may be a mistake.8217;8217;

8226; The Mumbai Police are waiting for the NSG report from Chandigarh, expected later this week.

August 27: It is RDX
8226; WHO CONFIRMED IT: Mumbai Forensic Laboratory, Santa Cruz
8226; WHO BECOMES SUSPECT: Dawood, at the behest of ISI. Police believe there is a consignment loose in the city after the 1993 blasts.

This one made the investigators sit up. Never has RDX been used in the city after the serial blasts in 1993. There have, however, been seizures of about 5 kg in 2001 from Delhi and Ahmedabad. Located at Kalina, today the lab director Dr Rukhmani Krishnamurthy sits with fingers on her lips. This is after deputy CM Chhagan Bhujbal blasted her on Monday for making the lab report public.

When Express visited the director, she refused to even recognise the reporter. 8216;8216;I am not supposed to talk to the media,8217;8217; she said. Two days after her men collected samples from the blast sites on August 27, Dr Krishnamurthi confirmed the use of RDX: 8216;8216;Our experts had collected samples from the remains and it is confirmed the use of RDX in both. It is, however, difficult to say what percentage.8217;8217;

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August 29: It is gelatin sticks
8226; WHO CONFIRMED IT: Mumbai Police
8226; WHO BECOMES SUSPECT: Anybody besides the 8216;8216;sophisticated8217;8217; terrorist. A stick of gelatin can be purchased for as little as Rs 40 in the market.

After the arrest of the two accused, Hanif and Arshad on Friday, Mumbai Police are convinced it was gelatin sticks. They have a confession from the suspects on that. They also reported a seizure of 235 gelatin sticks, crackers, a machine and various other explosive material from Hanif8217;s house in Andheri.