Terror under their nose leaves cops red-faced
BANGALORE: Wednesday’s bomb blast, triggered under the nose of some Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) personnel outside the state BJP HQs on Temple Street, has left the city cops embarrassed. Top police officers admit to a goof-up by the local police in securing the spot and looking for suspicious elements in the sensitive area.
Two KSRP vans were stationed in the area and some its personnel even saw the suspect parking the bike used in the blast. “I feel the personnel posted there were not properly briefed by their officers. But we cannot say it was an intelligence failure. Intelligence inputs are not for public consumption, but we had alerted everyone from time to time about central intelligence alerts,” city police commissioner Raghavendra Auradkar told TOI.
The state BJP office was under security cover of Vyalikaval police as well as traffic police. “A dozen personnel are posted every day in front of the BJP office to ward off any security threat. But they often act as bystanders rather than seriously check any suspicious elements. On Wednesday too they were going about their routine without knowing what exactly to do,” said a police officer.
Bangalore blast: Bomber parked bike 20 minutes before explosion
BANGALORE: Police officers investigating Wednesday’s explosion in Malleswaram have prepared a sketch of the suspected bike bomber.
The sketch is based on the description provided by a KSRP constable, who saw the man, aged between 25 and 30 years, park a TVS Suzuki Max 100 in which the bomb was allegedly kept.
The bomber parked the bike around 10am and walked away. “He was wearing a blue T-shirt and black trousers. Twenty minutes later, the bike exploded,” sources quoted the cop as saying.
Though the bike sported a fake Tamil Nadu registration plate, the engine and chassis numbers helped police trace its owners.
The Bangalore Police has announced a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh for anyone providing credible information leading to the arrest of the perpetrators.
Both Director General of Police Lalrokhuma Pachau said various agencies are carrying out a coordinated probe. “Security has been beefed up at all vital installations, important buildings like Raj Bhavan, high court, Vidhana Soudha, stadia, bus terminals, international airport, railway stations, Metro stations, technology parks, central government offices, foreign consulate offices and all crowded areas and places of worship,” he said.
“The first owner, a retired BSNL employee, had sold the bike to a dealer in used two-wheelers. The blast executioners bought the bike from him,” sources said.
Investigators have found that the attackers had used the documents of gullible persons to buy the bike from two mechanics. The NIA team has picked up the mechanics from Vellore and Kancheepuram, besides a person from Chennai.
The attackers reportedly bought the bike from the mechanics with a false address.
Four special squads headed by top cops Raghavendra Auradkar and Pronab Mohanty have been formed to probe the blast.
