Patna/New Delhi: The series of blasts in Patna on the day of BJP’s Hunkar rally that killed six and injured above 90 persons could be the handiwork of Indian Mujahideen, a the banned militant organisation earlier known as SIMI. However, there has been no official confirmation yet.
As per the report published in the Times of India (read original story), four alleged operatives of the outfit have been detained, one of whom is in critical condition after being caught in a blast.
During interrogation, they reportedly told the police that they had staged the attack in retaliation for the Muzaffarnagar riots. They are also said to have named the IM module involved in the Bodh Gaya blasts.
The names of the four detained are Imtiaz Ansari, Ainul, Akhtar and Kaleem. Ansari, a resident of Ranchi, was apprehended at the railway station just after the first two bombs went off.
He was apparently planning to plant some more bombs but panicked when he saw the police and bomb disposal squad. On being challenged, he tried to flee but was arrested.
Ansari had been asked by his handlers not to carry a mobile phone. So he had jotted down phone numbers of a dozen conspirators on a piece of paper, which fell into the hands of the cops and helped them track down some of the others.
One of them, Ainul, who is critical, was initially believed to be a victim of the railway station blasts before it emerged that he was also part of the conspiracy.
Six of the bombs went off inside and near Gandhi Maidan, the sprawling rally venue. The remaining two blasts took place inside a public convenience complex at Patna Junction when trains, including special ones hired by the BJP, were disgorging people came for the rally.
The police officially said there was only one blast inside the railway station, but sources insisted there were two.
