The bomb disposal squad at Seemapuri (Express photo by Abhinav Saha) A day after an improvised explosive device (IED) was recovered from a bag found in Delhi’s Old Seemapuri area, the police commissioner Rakesh Asthana said this specific explosive as well as an IED found at the Ghazipur market last month were prepared with the intention of carrying out blasts at public places across the city.
Asthana said, “An IED was recovered in Ghazipur on January 17 and a similar IED was also recovered and neutralised in Old Seemapuri on Thursday. According to the probe, these IEDs were prepared with an intention to carry out blasts at public places. Such activities are not possible without local support.”
He said the Special Cell and other teams are investigating the case and they are probing forward and backward linkages. “We are trying to pre-empt every such incident in Delhi and expose any local and foreign network,” he said, refusing to divulge more details.
On Thursday afternoon, a team of the New Delhi range of Special Cell probing the Ghazipur IED raided a house in Old Seemapuri on Thursday, and found a bag containing IEDs. They made a call to the police control room (PCR) to alert them about the discovery.
Teams of the National Security Guard (NSG), Delhi Fire Services, Forensic Science Lab (FSL) and bomb disposal squad were called to the spot. The IED, weighing 2.5 to 3 kg, was later defused, and the owner of the house and a property dealer are being questioned by police.
During investigation, it came to light that officers from Seemapuri police station had also conducted a verification of tenants in the area as part of security measures ahead of the Republic Day. But they found this particular house locked at the time. A Special Cell team has also retrieved footage from all CCTV cameras installed in and around the building where the suspicious bag was found. The footage is being analysed, an officer said.
NSG sources said that explosive is suspected to be a mix of ammonium nitrate and RDX but a forensic lab will examine it in detail. With this explosive having similarities with the one recovered from the Ghazipur flower market ahead of Republic Day last month, police believe both cases are linked.
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