Mystery of the letter

On May 14, a threat message from an unknown terror group had warned of blasts in the Capital

Mystery of the letter

On May 14, a threat message from an unknown terror group had warned of blasts in the Capital

The station master at the New Delhi railway station reportedly received a threat letter on May 14, warning of serial explosions at key locations in Delhi, Lucknow and Gorakhpur on May 25. Police said the letter was signed by an unknown outfit 'Lashkar-e-Taufa', which claimed that bombs would explode at New Delhi railway station, Old Delhi railway station, Delhi zoo, Red Fort and other places. "The Delhi High Court is close to Delhi zoo where the blast took place and Wednesday was May 25. The threat letter sender did what he claimed in the letter," said a police source.

On the spot: Forensic experts collecting samples of residue from the
spot outside the Delhi High Court where the blast took place yesterday

The area was cordoned off by security personnel within minutes of the
explosion. Pics/Imtiyaz Khan

No clue
DCP of New Delhi, Bhairon Singh Gujjar said that a special crime team has been roped into the investigations to find out who sent the letter. "Our effort to arrest the culprit is on. We are verifying the letter," said the DCP.
"We will rock the city by serial explosions at key locations in national capital, Lucknow and Gorakhpur on May 25. One of our target areas is a place near Delhi zoo. Don't take us lightly," was written in the letter, claimed the source who did not wish to be named.

You've been warned!
Police were puzzled after reading that the letter. They thought it was some mischief monger at work. Sources said that cops have never heard the name of Lashkar-e-Taufa before.u00a0"Bombs will explode at New Delhi railway station, Old Delhi railway station, Red Fort, New Delhi zoo and other places. We have chosen our areas to strike and rock the Capital on May 25," the letter said.u00a0 Ten days later, the matter remains a mystery.

Blasts from the past
Wednesday's blast is the seventh such explosion that has rattled the national capital in the past few years. The six previous cases of low-intensity blasts remain unsolved. The police have only been able to come up with the explanation that these are "acts of mischievous elements." In the past few years, six cases of low-intensity explosions have been reported in the national capital. Five of these blasts took place in the dead of the night in south Delhi in the same signature style: a crude bomb triggered by ammonium nitrate and concrete shrapnel. On January 16, 2008, a low intensity blast took place near the IIT gate in Malviya Nagar. A fortnight later, in February, another blast was reported in the same area. A similar blast was reported in the same spot on February 11, 2004. On May 8 in 2008, a blast took place in Lado Sarai in the same jurisdiction. A similar blast was reported in the same place in July 2005 as well. The other low-intensity blast was a pressure-cooker bomb inside a car outside Jama Masjid area on September 19, 2009. In this case, ammonium nitrate was circuited with shrapnel in a pressure cooker in a blue Maruti car. The explosion took place two hours after two Taiwanese tourists had sustained bullet injuries after unidentified bikers arrived near the historic Jama Masjid and opened several rounds of fire at their tourist bus.u00a0 A more serious blast on September 27, 2008, which killed three, including a nine-year-old boy, and injured over 27, followed the same signature style of the low-intensity blasts in Mehrauli area. And it occurred six months after the first crude explosion at the IIT gate, with police suspecting that these low-intensity blasts were 'test-runs' of the larger blast in Mehrauli.u00a0 In addition, a blast took place inside Jama Masjid in April, 2006, which injured 13 people. In Jama Masjid, crude bombs were placed inside plastic bags. Till date, none of these blast cases, including the fatal Mehrauli blast, have been solved.

What's so special?
Did Delhi police underestimate the threat of terrorism in the Capital? Sources have told MiD DAY that senior police officers of the Special Cell have repeatedly been telling their men to concentrate on local criminals and not on terrorism. Sources said that since the new commissioner has joined they are often asked to focus on local issues even if it comes at the cost of ignoring terrorism related matters. "We have been asked to ban criminals, despite agencies like crime branch already working on that. We have not been able to concentrate on terror intelligence due to this and now when such a thing has happened they expect us to solve it suddenly," a source said. Since the Batla House encounter about three years ago, Special Cell has been going through turbulent times and the men say they haven't yet got the attention they deserve. Soon after taking charge, BK Gupta, the present commissioner of Delhi police had made a statement that he is passionate about Special Cell, but improvement if any isn't visible yet.