M A I N   N E W S

Mumbai Attacked
CCTVs give police vital leads
Sketch of a suspect may be released soon; probe teams fan out to seven states 
Shiv Kumar
Tribune News Service

Mumbai, July 16
Investigators, who are carrying out an exhaustive probe into the 13/7 serial blasts, today said they have obtained “soild leads” and are in the process of preparing the sketches of suspects.

“Surveillance cameras installed at Opera House and Zaveri Bazar, two of the three blast sites, have yielded important clues regarding the identity of the bombers,” Rakesh Maria, chief of the Anti-Terror Squad of the Mumbai police said here.

Briefing reporters, Maria said sketch of a probable suspect would be prepared soon based on certain eyewitness accounts and CCTV footage at a blast site.

“We are examining the CCTV footage frame by frame..... One specific photograph is being examined thoroughly and more clues are expected from the CCTV study,” Maria said. Maria said that the CCTV footage collected from all the three blast sites was “grainy” and it was being improved by experts. The sketch may be ready by tonight and circulated among the investigators, Maria said.

"Experts have retrieved certain portions of metallic container which was used to store and carry the explosives," he added. Forensic experts had opined that ammonium nitrate mixed with fuel oil was used in the explosives while digital timers were used to carry out the blasts. Maria said the investigating teams were in touch with the police of different states, including Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh. Maria also ruled out the possibility of suicide bombers being involved in the triple blasts. "After visiting the blast sites, we can now rule out the possibility of suicide bomber," the ATS chief added.

Maria also made it clear that till the case is “cracked” and people involved are in the custody of the police, they would not like to speculate which group was involved. Meanwhile, investigators fanned out to a number of places across the country to question suspected members of the Indian Mujahideen and the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) lodged in various jails in Gujarat and Karnataka. "(Members of) various modules arrested in the past are being questioned (to see) if they can help in the solving the blast case," the ATS chief said.Nobody had been detained so far, he said.

(With PTI inputs)