Not a bang up job

The explosion of the crude bomb outside Delhi High Court triggered panic, but no one was injured

Not a bang up job

The explosion of the crude bomb outside Delhi High Court triggered panic, but no one was injured

The low-intensity device that exploded outside the Delhi High Court on Wednesday had all ingredients of a bomb - gun powder, a tiny detonator, shrapnel, battery and a chemical believed to be ammonium nitrate. Fortunately, the miscreants were not able to execute their plan and the bomb couldn't do the damage it could have. No one was injured in the incident. Sources in Delhi police said that the quantity of gunpowder has not been ascertained yet but its presence has been confirmed.

Teeming: Police and forensic experts surround the site of a blast
outside the Delhi High Court in the Capital, on Wednesday.
PIC/Imtiyaz Khan

The probe of the blast has now been transferred to the Special Cell (the unit which probes terrorism-related issues in the Capital. Special Commissioner of Police, Law and Order and Joint Commissioner of Police, New Delhi district, Dharmendra Kumar said, "It was a very minor explosion that took place outside the High Court. After the explosion smoke started emanating and someone called the police."

Work to do: Police, and forensic experts surround the site of the blast
outside Delhi High Court on Wednesday. PIC/Imtiyaz Khan

Straight to the lab
"The device could have had ammonium nitrate but it would be early to comment on this. Our forensic experts have been called in and they will examine the samples that have been collected from the spot."
Sources said that had the execution of the culprits been perfect, there could have been more damage as the bomb went off when the area was crowded. "There is a canteen just in front of the spot. A lot of people were sitting there for lunch when the explosion occurred. Had the bomb exploded in its full potential it could have wreaked havoc," they said.u00a0

So, the timing of the explosion was good but the execution was flawed, just like in the blast that occurred near Jama Masjid last year.u00a0The blast occurred around 1.15 pm, on a busy weekday afternoon when the court was in session, just a few metres from the building complex. The explosion took place near the right-hand front wheel of a silver Ford Figo car in a parking bay.

"A small packet was kept close to a car in the parking near gate number seven of the Delhi High Court," Special Commissioner of Police Dharmendra Kumar. He said it initially looked as if the blast had occurred in the car belonging to lawyer Rajat Jain. Investigations showed it was a crude bomb.

No accident
"It was not an accident," he stressed, adding that white powder was found around the car. "The car with registration number DL4C AF 7935 suffered only superficial damage," Kumar said, adding that no one was injured. "It was a low intensity blast. It is an open access area and anyone can come here. The lawyer to whom the car belonged had nothing to do with the blast. Rajat Jain parked his car at around 10 a.m. in the morning and then left for the court," he added. No other car in the parking area was damaged. Two people including Rajat Jain, a parking attendant Ajit Kumar and three drivers who were present there at the spot were questioned by the cops. After a call was made to the police 1.28 pm, the scene in the lane where the explosion had occurred was maim as there were civilians, security men and lawyers who were shocked due to the incident. Commissioner of Police BK Gupta had reached the spot within ten minutes of the call and tried avoid the spreading of panic. The National Security Guard (NSG), a special response unit, and a bomb squad team too reached the spot.

Contradiction
Special Commissioner of police, Law and Order, Dharmendra Kumar told the media that the bag containing explosives was kept near the front right wheel of the Ford Figo car. On the other hand, Varun Raj, an eyewitness, claimed that the bag was kept on the bonnet of the vehicle.

On Paper
A newspaper dated May 1 has been found behind the car. May 1 was the day when Osama bin Laden's killing was confirmed in the newspapers. Even though investigators are not linking the presence of that newspaper with the blast, it can't be ruled out that Indian Mujahideen (IM) who have claimed responsibility for the Jama Masjid blast considered Osama bin Laden as their ideal. That paper has also been confiscated.