LUCKNOW: After arresting 11 schoolboys and detaining 24 others in connection with the crude bomb attacks across Prayagraj during the May-July period, the district police authorities are now focusing on finding out if they had links with known local criminals.
The schoolboys are all students of four reputed convent schools in the city. Of the 35 students detained, 27 are minor. Among them, 10 were produced by the police before the Juvenile Justice Board which sent them to the juvenile home in Khuldabad. The boys, lodged with other minor offenders, are allowed to meet their parents once a day, an official said.
The schoolboys, aged 14-18 years, used to bunk classes after getting messages on social media. They used to assemble near Dhobi Ghat Crossing and other places to plan the explosions to display their supremacy over rival groups. Police probe has also revealed that a minor student was the leader of the ‘Immortal’ group. He was an expert in making crude bombs, which made loud noises but did not pose any serious threat.
As per sources, the initial probe has revealed that the mobile phones of some students show that they were in touch with a few persons with criminal credentials, like Ayush Shukla, who is wanted in connection with the July 4 crude bomb attack in Daraganj locality. The phone also had the number of Vishal Chauhan, another criminal lodged in Naini Central Jail here.
Minor boy was the group leader
Police probe has also revealed that a minor student of a convent school was the leader of the ‘Immortal’ group. He was an expert in making crude bombs, which made loud noises but did not pose any serious threat