A day after the Uttar Pradesh police retracted their statement that the men who planted a bomb on a train in Bhopal were from the Islamic State (IS), Home Minister Rajnath Singh did not mention the Islamist terrorist organisation or any other outfit in his statement to the Lok Sabha. He, however, described Saifullah, who was shot dead by the Uttar Pradesh police on March 7, as a “suspected terrorist”.
On Thursday, a Madhya Pradesh police official told The Hindu that the accused had prepared the “pressure pipe bomb” after downloading a manual from Inspire, a magazine published by the al-Qaeda, a terrorist outfit which has become weak after the emergence of the Islamic State.
The Uttar Pradesh police said the accused were self-proclaimed members of the IS and had even recovered a hand painted signature black flag of the jihadist outfit from the rented house on the outskirts of Lucknow where Saifullah was killed.
The low-intensity bomb used in the train blast comprised potassium chlorate, which is commonly available in the market, another official said.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had told a news agency on Wednesday that the accused belonged to the IS and had even sent the photograph of the bomb to their handler in Syria.
NIA probe
Mr. Rajnath Singh informed the Lok Sabha that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) will probe the suspected terror cases, including the Lucknow encounter in which an alleged terrorist, Saifullah, who was linked to the train blast was killed.
While the Uttar Pradesh police shot dead Saifullah on Tuesday, six suspects have been arrested in M.P. and U.P. on terror charges, Mr. Singh said.
Lok Sabha members thumped desks when Mr. Singh lauded Saifullah’s father Mohammad Sartaj for refusing to accept his son’s body after he told reporters in Kanpur a day ago that “if he could not be loyal to the country, how can he be ours”.
“The government is proud of him and I am sure Parliament too is,” Mr. Singh said.
“Initial inspection of the scene of crime indicated that the accused had used an IED prepared by using locally available explosives for the blast. Madhya Pradesh police coordinated with central agencies for the investigation of the incident. Subsequently, based on available intelligence, three suspects were taken into custody by Madhya Pradesh police during vehicle checking at Pipariya in district Hoshangabad. Interrogation of these suspects indicated their involvement in the aforesaid incident and they were arrested. Further investigation of the case is being done in coordination with central agencies and information is being collected about other accomplices of the accused,” the Minister said.
Based on the interrogation of the above suspects and other available information, the Uttar Pradesh police initiated action at different places in Lucknow, Etawah, Kanpur and Auraiya, Mr. Singh added.
