SAMBALPUR: A day after a bomb was allegedly hurled near the mosque in Peer Baba chowk of Sambalpur, the police on Wednesday arrested a 19-year-old youth in connection with the incident.
The accused was identified as Abhilash Mishra of Sunaripara in Bada Bazar under Town police limits. Police said the accused confessed to committing the crime and it was an act of revenge. There was no communal angle in the incident, said the police which found several tools and materials used in making pressure bomb from his house.
“After the investigation it was ascertained that it was a clear case of personal revenge and no communal angle is involved. Our team has worked relentlessly over the night to nab the accused in shortest possible time,” IG (Northern Range), Himanshu Lal said.
The IG said immediate steps were taken to prevent any law and order situation. Several teams were formed to collect CCTV footage, technical intelligence besides social media platforms were analysed on the basis of which the accused was arrested.
Sambalpur SP, Mukesh Kumar Bhamoo said Mishra is a second year ITI student and had selected the location considering the crowd and escape route. Besides, he assumed there were no CCTV cameras in the area, the SP further added.
At 7.24 pm on Tuesday, police said, the accused hurled a pressure bomb towards the mosque from a flyover passing near the Peer Baba chowk and fled the spot on his cycle. While three persons were injured and a vehicle was damaged following the explosion, the incident triggered panic among the nearby people. Subsequently, the injured were rushed to the district headquarters hospital (DHH) and police reached the spot.
During the course of investigation, it was found that the accused had a personal rivalry with Sushil Paika, member of a Instagram page called ‘SBP Mafia Gang’. Paika had allegedly assaulted Mishra’s father once due to which he sought revenge. Subsequently, he allegedly planned to frame Paika in the bombing incident and also put the sticker of ‘SBP Mafia Gang’ on the bomb.
After the bomb explosion, the Sadar Masjid Committee lodged a complaint alleging it to be an attack on the community. However, the timely intervention of the police and deployment of police at the spot brought the situation under control, police said.
Police also set-up multiple check-posts and started blocking and checking vehicles to nab the accused.