Whiff of gunpowder found in Modasa

Experts in the Chemistry department of the Directorate of Forensic Sciences DFS in Gandhinagar told Newsline on Saturday that the explosive used in the blast was gunpowder.

8220;We found no trace of RDX or ammonium nitrate in the samples given to us for examination,8221; said a senior expert, adding, 8220;The main explosive in the sample mixture contained residue of gunpowder.8221;

An Integrated Circuit IC that the police had recovered from the blast site is currently being tested at the Physics department of the DFS. The department is likely to handover its final report to the Sabarkantha police, who are investigating the case, by next week.

Unlike the bombs that exploded in Ahmedabad on July 26 and those found unexploded in Surat, the Modasa bomb, according to DFS experts, was a simple Improvised Explosion Devise IED.

8220;Gunpowder, packed tightly inside a cast-iron container, was the main explosive material in the bomb. While a simple detonator was used as the primer that initiated ignition, the IC used as timer was non-programmable and fixed time. A motorcycle battery was used to complete this circuit,8221; said a senior scientist, who is supervising the forensic examination.

Meanwhile, an officer associated with the probe said the registration number on the fake number plate of Hero Honda Passion, which was used in the blast, had been traced to a Bajaj Boxer motorcycle in Himmatnagar.

8220;The motorcycle is registered in the name of a State Transport Corporation employee. There is, however, no connection between the two vehicles,8221; he said.

Superintendent of Police R B Brahmbhatt, who is supervising the investigations, said he was not aware of the reported arrest of some persons from Modasa in connection with the Malegaon blasts by the Mumbai Police. 8220;We will soon get in touch with the Mumbai Police,8221; he said.