NEW DELHI, Nov 11: An initial assessment of the blast site near the Red Fort in Delhi indicated the suspects may have panicked and made a mistake while carrying the explosives or the explosion may have been accidental while transporting the explosives to relocate.
Some top intelligence sources said on Tuesday that the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) that exploded in the car was incomplete for which it could not cause the maximum damage which supports the theory that the explosion could be accidental.
The sources said the raids on terror suspects across the country for the most part of the day on Monday, and the recovery of 2,900 kg of chemical used in bomb-making in Haryana’s Faridabad may have triggered a panic situation for the suspects and compelled them to relocate.
This development is significant because it changes the case from a suspected suicide attack to an accidental explosion during transport, investigators said. The suspect appeared to have assembled the IED improperly. Due to this, the IED had a limited impact, the sources said.
The blast in a Hyundai i20 car killed 13 and injured nearly two dozen people. Eyewitnesses said the shockwave from the massive explosion shook some buildings near the Red Fort in Chandni Chowk, one of the most crowded places in the national capital.
More initial evidence that indicated an accidental explosion while the suspects drove through the traffic carrying the IED include no blast crater formation and absence of projectiles at the site. Investigators believe the suspects in a panic could not arm the IED for maximum damage.
The i20 had been crawling through bumper-to-bumper traffic when it exploded, and the vehicle being in motion may have done something to the IED, sources said, adding this angle also supports the accidental detonation theory. Top intelligence sources have not ruled out the explosion happened when the suspects tried to relocate or get rid of the explosives.
The raids by the police and other agencies on sleeper terror units across the country and their coordinated crackdown definitely helped in containing a wider threat, sources said.
(Manas Dasgupta)