Two persons have been detained by the Delhi Police Special Cell for questioning in connection with the attack on foreign nationals in the Walled City of Delhi on Sunday.
According to sources, the suspects were picked up from Northeast Delhi after their antecedents raised suspicion. Preliminary investigations into the attack on the Taiwanese nationals and the fire in a car parked near the area police station indicated to the involvement of local elements. “The ease with which the assailants managed to flee from the Walled City after shooting at the victims suggest that at least one of them was familiar with the area's topography. Otherwise, a stranger would get lost in the labyrinth of lanes in the Walled City,” said a police officer.
The police also plan to send teams to various parts of western Uttar Pradesh in the lookout for leads. While a large number of mobile phone records are being screened for clues, the Special Cell sleuths have also been coordinating with intelligence agencies.
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Meanwhile, the police have reportedly found that the e-mail, purportedly sent by the Indian Mujahideen to an international news broadcaster a few hours after the attack, was sent from Mumbai. The authenticity of the e-mail's contents and its source is being verified.
“Being probed from all angles”
Delhi Police Commissioner Y.S. Dadwal on Monday said the attack on foreign nationals and the subsequent low-intensity explosion in the car are being investigated from all possible angles.
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While separate cases have been registered in connection with the two incidents, circumstantial evidence has indicated that they are linked.
The Delhi Police Special Cell has taken over investigations. Two Taiwanese nationals were injured when two men on a motorcycle opened indiscriminate fire near Gate No. 3 of the historic Jama Masjid on Sunday morning.
Ammonium nitrate is suspected to have been used in the crude improvised device that exploded in the car belonging to a local resident over two hours after the attack on the foreign nationals. Though the explosion was of very low intensity, the vehicle had gone up in flames and was gutted before the bomb detection squad could reach the spot. The police found some parts of a pressure cooker, its upper lid and two watches inside the car.
“No detonators were found in the poorly circuited device. Usually one watch is used as a timer, but it is possible to use another watch in a parallel circuit to ensure that in case one circuit fails the other triggers the improvised explosive device,” said a police officer.
While efforts are being made to reconstruct the device planted in the car, the police are also trying to ascertain from where the watches and other configuring materials were procured. Investigations are also under way to find out the source of the e-mail purportedly sent by the Indian Mujahideen to an international media broadcaster. The e-mail issuing threat to target the Commonwealth Games was issued over two hours after the attack on the Taiwanese media crew.
One tourist discharged
One of the two tourists injured in the shooting was discharged on Monday from the Lok Nayak Jaya Prakash Narayan Hospital. The condition of the other was reported to be stable.
While 40-year-old Zewei, who had a miraculous escape as the bullet grazed his head, was discharged from the hospital at 4.15 p.m., the second patient, Chiang, 38, who underwent a four-hour-long operation after being hit by a bullet in his abdomen was reported to be “stable but critical,” according to Medical Superintendant Amit Bannerjee.