World | India
Jaipur blast probe spotlight on Dhaka
Police probing the series of bombings in Jaipur that killed 63 people said on Friday that new evidence pointed towards the involvement of a Bangladeshi militant group.
- Agencies
- Published: 23:39 May 16, 2008
Jaipur: Police probing the series of bombings in Jaipur that killed 63 people said on Friday that new evidence pointed towards the involvement of a Bangladeshi militant group.
The bombs, all strapped to bicycles, ripped through a crowded shopping area in the popular tourist city on Tuesday evening. At least 216 people were injuries in the blasts.
Investigators said the nature of the attacks gave away the Bangladeshi militant group Harkat-ul-Jihad al Islami (HuJI), suspected to be behind several previous attacks in the country.
"The modus operandi, the way the bombs were manufactured and concealed in bags, is very similar to the way HuJI operates," said Pankaj Singh, a senior Rajasthan police officer.
"It is very possible that Indian groups helped them," Singh said in Jaipur.
Rajasthan's Parliamentary Affairs Minister R.S. Rathore said yesterday that 18 people, mainly Bangladeshi migrants, were being questioned by police. He also said the latest toll was 63 dead.
Bangladeshi officials urged New Delhi not to jump to conclusions.
"While we don't rule out the existence of HuJI in Bangladesh, we can say their activity has been drastically controlled by the security agencies here," said Hasan Mahmoud Khandaker, director general of the Rapid Action Battalion.
Police said they were looking for Indian suspects and had released several sketches of those who could have triggered the bombs or bought the bicycles in Jaipur.
An e-mail to local media, from a group calling itself the Indian Mujahideen, claimed responsibility for the attack. Similar claims were made minutes before a blast in Uttar Pradesh state last year. The e-mail also included a video of a bicycle with a bag strapped to it and showed the bike's serial number, which the police said matched with one of the bicycles from the blast site.
Indian police said they were taking the e-mail "very seriously", although some police officers and the chief minister have questioned its authenticity.
"Some portions of the e-mail are definitely true, some appear to be wrong and an attempt to mislead investigations," Singh said. "But they did get the serial number right."
In the e-mail, the Indian Mujahideen declared open war on India and threatened more attacks on tourists.
Police said they were questioning 18 suspects in connection with the attacks and had identified the sellers of eight of 10 cycles on which the bombs were placed and exploded in crowded areas. Deputy Inspector General of Police (Crime) Saurab Srivastava said the bags in which the bombs were concealed before being left on the bicycles were "of a specific nature".
"We are trying to get to the manufactures and sellers of these bags," he said.
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