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May 16, 2008
Jaipur Blast
Suspects Spoke Bengali,
Bought Cycles without Bargaining
By Sahil Makkar
Jaipur
The men suspected to be behind Tuesday's serial blasts here that
killed at least 61 people and injured 216 had made their most
significant purchases from seven bicycle shops in the walled city
area without attempting to bargain and spoke Bengali, police sources
said.
Ten bicycles were used for the serial bombings - nine were brand new
and the last one, which has left security officials in a tizzy, was
a used one.
"All cycles were purchased a day before and on the blast day. They
went to each shop twice in two days. On the first day they went to
check the various cycle models and next day the suspects went to the
same shops to purchase the cycles," a police official told IANS on
condition of anonymity.
The men were dressed in blue jeans and white shirts, the shopkeepers
had told the police.
"The men did not see any of the owners and only dealt with their
employees. They paid whatever money was asked for the bicycles
without bargaining and hesitation and went away immediately.
"The employees have told us that they did not look like Rajasthanis
and spoke in broken Hindi. In fact they were speaking Bengali, which
has again given rise to speculation that the militants were from a
Bangladeshi outfit," the official added.
According to him, the bicycle used for the blast at the Chandpole
Hanuman temple was bought from Santosh Trading Company. The cycle
used for the bombing near Sanganeri Gate was bought from shop number
84 Hemraj Cycle Store. For blasts near National Handloom in Chhoti
Chapuad, two cycles were bought from Nanad Cycles.
One cycle was bought from Cycle Haat to carry out a bombing near
Tripolia Gate. For the Kotwali blast, the cycle had been bought from
Krishna Cycle Store.
The cycle that failed to explode at Sawai Mansingh Hospital was
bought from Shankar Cycles in Kishanpole area. The cycle bearing the
brand name "Naked Aggression" was manufactured by Surya Cycles.
The terrorists had used one old bicycle to trigger the explosion at
Johori Bazaar. Two bicycles were also purchased from these shops for
blasts at Manak Chowk and Badi Chapuad - both a hand-shaking
distance from the famous tourist landmark Hawa Mahal.
The modus operandi of the Jaipur blasts is similar to the serial
bomb blasts in Uttar Pradesh courts in November 2007, the Mecca
Masjid blast in Hyederabad in May 2007 and the Malegaon blast in
2006 where bombs of medium intensity were planted on bicycles.
At that time investigating agencies had strongly suspected
Bangladeshi militant outfit Harkat-ul-Jehad-al-Islami (HuJI) of
being behind the attacks. Working on some leads, police teams are
raiding Bangladeshi localities at Galta Gate, Baghrana, Ramganj,
Subhash Chowk and Bhatta Basti in Jaipur.
Sources said investigation teams from the Delhi Police Special Cell,
Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad and Uttar Pradesh Special Task
Force - all expert wings in combating terrorism - are already
probing on similar lines.
Arvind Gulati, owner of the Cycle Haat, confirmed to IANS that his
employee Arif had sold a bicycle to one of the suspects.
"Police have taken Arif into custody and are still interrogating
him. Arif is assisting them in making a sketch," Gulati said.
So far, after questioning all the employees of bicycle shops, police
have released four sketches of the suspects, all men in their early
20s.
May 16, 2008
IANS | Top
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