The National Investigation Agency has identified those who planted bombs at Bodh Gaya, following the recent raids in Ranchi.
“We have identified the group and the planters. But how the conspiracy was hatched, how the plan was executed is still to be ascertained,” an NIA official told The Hindu .
The investigators recovered, during a raid at Iram lodge in Ranchi, a “sheet of paper” which they say were prepared by Hyder Ali, a suspect named in the Patna blasts FIR, currently absconding.
“All five” of Hyder, Imtiaz Ansari, Tariq alias Ainul, Taufeeq and Mujibal Ansari are planters in the Bodh Gaya case, NIA sources told The Hindu. Except Mujibal, all others are named in the Patna blast FIR. Ainul, who was injured while planting a bomb in the toilet of the Patna railway station, succumbed to his injuries.
“Hyder was the planter of the bomb near the Bodhi tree. The sheet not only plots the blast locations, such as wall and tree, but also lists the number of bombs at each location and the name of the planter besides it. The document was prepared by someone who only addressed himself as ‘me’. It could possibly be Hyder,” NIA sources said.This Ranchi ‘module’ of the Indian Mujahideen, mentored by IM operative Tehseen Akhtar, is the group identified for the Bodh Gaya blast.
Interrogation of IM commander Yasin Bhatkal revealed that the group had been aiming to target Bodh Gaya for “over a year”. While the specific motive of the attack is still under investigation, the possible aim was to “avenge the Rohingya issue” in Myanmar, where Rohingya Muslims have faced persecution.
In addition, on the cylinder bombs that were defused at the temple site, investigators had found chits stuck on the cylinder carrying some text. “We have found the original material that links to the text of these papers. It is jihadi literature,” an NIA official said.
