RDX, ammonium nitrate make Jaipur bombs deadliest

A number of other killer firsts went into the making of the explosives

JAIPUR: The powerful blasts that killed nearly 80 people in Jaipur on Tuesday evening were an innovative mix of RDX and ammonium nitrate fitted into improvised devices resembling anti-personnel Claymore mines, investigations have revealed. This is the first time a combination of these two powerful explosives has been used for terror strikes in India.

“The mix of RDX and ammonium nitrate is the deadliest cocktail that terrorists can make,” Union minister of state for home affairs Prakash Jaiswal said. So far, terrorists had been using either RDX or ammonium nitrate.

In yet another first, the explosives were assembled to create Claymore mines, a device that is routinely used by the LTTE in Sri Lanka, for maximum impact in a crowded area. “It is a directional mine that is kept 2.5 to 4 feet above the ground to widen the range of destruction,” an Army official said. When the mine explodes, it casts shrapnel in the front direction, hitting the victims from head to toe.

Another feature of the Claymore mine is it has a killing range of 50 meters in the front and 15 meters at the back. “The danger range is, however, up to 250 meters,” an Army officer told DNA.

This explains why terrorists placed the improvised devices in bags on cycles. “The bags were hung around the handle of cycles parked in front of temples in order to target devotees lined up in front of the gates,” a forensic expert said. The strikers had placed nine devices at six places in the Walled City on Tuesday, eight of which went off within a span of 15 minutes, all within a range of 5km.

Forensic experts who examined the explosives used in Jaipur said every device exploded here contained around 1,500 to 2,000 pellets. The bomb that was defused by forensic experts contained iron pellets weighing 22kg. “The large amount of iron meant maximum number of casualties and injuries,” sources said.

Such was the force of the blast that the pellets used in the device that exploded outside the Chandpole Hanuman Temple pierced through a three-inch thick telephone junction metal-box.

Also for the first time, double detonators were used in the explosive devices, forensic sources said. However, using double detonators does not mean more damage. “The terrorists probably wanted to be ensure that the device goes off even if one ‘charge’ (detonator) fails,” said  an officer.