No leads yet in twin blasts probe

Three days after the deadly blasts shook Hyderabad, the Andhra Pradesh police are struggling to get leads in the case. They are in no hurry either.

Picking up the evidences one by one, the Special Investigating Team, set up to look into the Saturday's blasts that left more than 40 dead, said it was investigating the "incident from all angles".

Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) M Punna Rao, who heads the team, said three cases were registered in connection with the blasts and  the recovery of an unexploded bomb a cinema at Dilsukhnagar.

"It is an open-ended investigation. One after the other, we look into them. Definitely, we cannot rule something out or confirm it to be something else, unless we explore all lines of investigation. When we reach some conclusion, we will definitely get back to you," the officer said.

Rao stressed that beyond doubt it was a terrorist attack.

"Terrorists seek to achieve two major objectives by such perpetrating acts. One is to create immediate panic in society and the second is to foment violence clashes between different groups of people. We have to find out which terrorist modules or groups are involved and who sponsored them," he added.

On the explosives used, he said that Neogel-90 was used. The culprits made crude explosive devices mixing ammonium nitrate with hydrocarbon and gelatine sticks. Then they fixed detonators and timers (alarm clocks) to them and stuffed in bags.

"Our investigation will ascertain the materials used and their source," he said and added that the SIT was coordinating with the Nagpur police after finding that Neogel-90 was manufactured in a factory there.

To a query if there was a link between the blast in Mecca Masjid on May 18 and the recent one, he just said, "All are terror attacks."

Asked if there was a clear link between the busting of a currency racket with the seizure of fake currency worth Rs 2.36 crore, he said there could not be a definite link. But he was quick to add that the police could not rule out anything.   

He appealed to the visitors, who had taken footages of the Laser show in the park with their cameras, videos or handycams, to get in touch with him over phone, for which they would be suitably rewarded.

Asked how soon the SIT could complete its investigations, he said there could not be a definite timetable.