New Delhi: The police in the national capital dismissed the claims made by Mujahideen Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (MGH), an al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group, regarding the planting of an Improvised Explosive Device at Ghazipur flower market in the city, sources said here on Tuesday.
A Telegram message was found by the intelligence gathering agencies during social media monitoring in which the MGH claimed responsibility of planting the IED that was recovered and timely defused by the bomb disposal squad of the National Security Guard on January 14.
“The police are yet to find any authentic source behind that message,” sources said.
In the message by the terror outfit, it was also claimed that the said IED did not explode due to technical glitches.
On Monday, top National Security Guard (NSG) sources confirmed to IANS that a timer device was also fitted with the recovered IED.
“A timer device was fitted with the explosives,” the source confirmed as per the ‘confidential report’ submitted by the NSG to the Delhi Police. The source further denied all reports claiming that a certain time was fixed for the bomb to explode.
Earlier, on the day of bomb’s recovery on January 14, National Security Guards Director General M.A. Ganapathy told IANS that the explosives-laden bag contained a mixture of RDX and Ammonium Nitrate.
“It looked like an RDX & Ammonium Nitrate mixture weighing around 3 kgs,” Ganapathy had informed.
He further said that they have shared all the details of the chemical composition of the explosive material with the Delhi Police.
Sources confirmed that the bomb also contained sharpnel which may have been used to inflict more damage or casualties.
The suspicious explosives-laden bag was first sighted by a person who had come to buy flowers from the Ghazipur flower market. He, however, did not pay any heed to it and left. When he returned after sometime, the bag was still there after which he informed a civil defence volunteer in the area who then ultimately made a PCR call around 10.16 a.m. and the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) department was also informed at the same time.
With things looking very serious, the Delhi Police alerted premier anti-terror force — NSG — about the suspicious object around 11 a.m. which sent the bomb disposal squad.
The police then cordoned off the entire area for the safety and security of the people. Then the NSG bomb disposal squad with the help of police personnel dug an approximately 8 feet ditch in an open ground where the bag carrying the IED was disposed off.
The NSG conducted a controlled explosion of the recovered IED in that ditch, saving several lives that could have been snuffed out if the bomb had not been found and defused in time.
Notably, on the same day — January 14, a special task force (STF) of Punjab Police recovered a 5-kg improvised explosive device and Rs 1 lakh in cash near the India-Pakistan border.
It was learnt that the IED found in Delhi could possibly be part of the same consignment which was recovered in Punjab.
“The investigation is still going on and all possible links are being probed to connect the missing dots in the case,” sources said.
(IANS)
