BANGALORE: More than three months after a blast outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium during an IPL match injured 15, the police have evidence that shows that the blast was the brainchild of Indian Mujahideen (IM). The IM is a banned terror outfit backed by the Lashkar-e- Taiba.
The Bangalore police’s Anti- Terrorist Cell (ATC) on Tuesday sought custody of Shahzad Ahmed alias Pappu (22) and Salman(20), who were arrested by the Delhi police in February, and are now in Tihar Jail. They are said to have been a part of the 2008 serial blasts in Delhi’s market places that killed more than 60 people.
The investigation has also run counter to state Home Minister V S Acharya’s claim that the betting lobby and the underworld were behind the April 17 blasts.
The ATC has also demanded the custody of Hussain Shabeer Gangawali(31) of Bhatkal, who was arrested by the Pune police in June.
Shahzad,was an associate of Atif Amin, who was killed in the Batla house encounter last year.
He had graduated from a flying school in Bangalore and knows the city well. The ATC suspect that Shahzad had conducted a recee for the IPL blast.
Salman, a Bachelor of Computer Applications (BCA) student, is said to be involved in the serial blasts in Gorakhpur, Varanasi Jaipur and Ahmedabad.
According to ATC sources, the IPL blast was done in signature IM style: multiple low-intensity bombs made of Ammonium Nitrate and synchronised explosions triggered by timers. The police suspect the duo had links with T Nasir, the alleged mastermind of Bangalore serial blasts of 2008.
