The improvised explosive device that went off outside a Church Street restaurant in Bengaluru on Sunday evening was an elbow-shaped pipe bomb fitted with a timer device, according to the experts who examined the blast site.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said he was awaiting a report on the incident from the State government and that, if required, the case might be handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). An NIA team had visited the blast site along with an explosive expert immediately after the incident and is now assisting the local police in the probe. Intelligence agencies have also joined the investigations.
An intelligence official said: “Explosive experts have found that it was a medium-intensity bomb made out of an elbow-shaped pipe that was stuffed with a mixture of ammonium nitrate and potassium chlorate. The device had a clock timer, whose remnants have been found. It was detonated using a nine-volt battery. The blasts carried out in different parts of the country in the recent past had a similar configuration.”
Investigators believe that the forensic evidence collected from the blast site may reveal from where the bomb making raw materials were procured and where it was configured. “The closed-circuit television cameras installed at the restaurant were not much of a help as none of them covered the area where the bomb had been planted,” he said.
A senior police officer, who has investigated several terror cases, said: “It was definitely a terror attack. The person who configured the explosive device knew his job well. Thankfully, it did not cause mass casualty. An emerging trend we have noticed is increasing use of low and medium intensity explosive devices by terror groups, apparently because they no more have access to high explosives like Research and Development Explosive (RDX).”
The Home Minister earlier had a meeting with the heads of security and intelligence agencies and senior MHA officials to take stock of the situation. He also met Union Law Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda and Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers Ananth Kumar for discussions.
Soon after the blast, Mr. Singh had on Sunday night spoken with Karnataka Chief Minister S. Siddaramaiah and offered all necessary assistance from the Centre. “The Home Minister said the Centre has suggested to the State government that CCTV cameras be installed at public places in Bengaluru and other main cities,” said an MHA official.
