Hyderabad blasts: Video footage holds key to identification of suspects

Visuals from 14 other cameras at different junctions also being examined

A family member of Dabbu Ramesh, who was severely injured in Thursday’s explosions, cries outside a hospital in Hyderabad on Saturday.

Visuals of two persons in the nearly 20-minute footage captured by a traffic surveillance camera hold the key for identification of persons responsible for the twin blasts at Dilsukhnagar.

Though investigators confirmed that Improvised Explosive Devices were placed on bicycles at both the blast sites, the crucial footage showed one person riding a bicycle — an old model with carrier on the rear around 6.30 p.m. The second person, taller than the cyclist, was seen walking towards the lane leading to Konark theatre.

The cyclist clad in a green ‘T’ shirt was of medium build and slightly dark complexion. He stopped by the traffic umbrella, apparently after the red traffic signal light was on. The pedestrian wearing a white shirt was a few feet away from him.

“We could not make out what they were speaking, but the tall man was giving some directions to the cyclist. His gestures with hands suggested this,” the investigators said. Their conversation lasted nearly two minutes. The cyclist, with a plastic cover tied to the rear carrier with ropes, moved ahead after some time. Both of them moved towards the Konark theatre lane. A few minutes later, the man in green ‘T’ shirt was seen briskly walking back towards the junction. However, the person in white shirt was not spotted again. Police believe he left the place in another direction.

The quality of the video footage recorded by Icantek camera was good enough to identify the junction and vehicles, but facial features of individuals were not clear. The camera had pan, tilt and zoom features. Had the personnel sitting in the traffic control room zoomed the camera, identification of the suspects could have been easier, the police said.

Along with footage, the investigators are examining video footage of 14 other cameras installed at different junctions along the Dilsukhnagar-Chaderghat stretch for further leads. “The camera which captured the footage of suspects started working only from February 15. The second camera at the junction wasn’t working for the past three months,” authorities said.

The video footage had been sent to a reputed film laboratory for enhancing quality of the images using specially designed software. “If this materialises, we can prepare better portraits of suspects,” they said. Meanwhile, forensic experts identified one of the bicycles as of Atlas make. The second one contained Grand Champion words engraved on it.