Pune blast probe heading in right direction: IG

Probe into the Pune blast case was moving in the right direction but it was very premature to say who was behind the terror attack, a top police official said today.

"Investigation is on. With the assistance of National Investigation Agency, state's Anti-Terrorism Squad is probing the case and it is moving in the right direction," inspector general (law and order), Rashmi Shukla said.

Asked whether police have any suspicion that the blast could be the handiwork of Indian Mujahideen or any other outfit, she said, "It's very premature to say who is behind or responsible for the blast."

On reports that some suspects have been detained, she said she had no information in this regard from the ATS.    

Terror struck  Pune last night as a powerful bomb ripped apart at a popular bakery near the Chabad House, killing nine people and injuring 57 others, in the first major attack since 26/11 carnage.

The Improvised Explosive Device, kept in a packet outside the kitchen of the German bakery, exploded at around 7.30 pm when a waiter attempted to open it.

"The 30'X30' structure, with a temporary extension for the customer, was owned by Shankar Kharose and Ram Kharose but
was being run by Gopal Manipuri," she said, adding the blast
has caused a 6'X4' hole on the wall.

Besides the ATS, experts from the Indian army and forensic laboratory have reached the spot to collect evidence from the scene of crime, Shukla said.
 
"Force One has also reached the spot and the area has been cordoned off," she said.

"We are awaiting forensic report to establish the nature of explosives used in the blast," the officer said while denying that some more explosive material was found near the bakery last night.

Among the nine killed in the incident, five were identified as Ankik Dhar (24), Anandi Dhar(19) and Shilpa Goenka (23) of Kolkata, T Sundari (22) of Bangalore and Bineeta Gadani of Mumbai. One of the four unidentified bodies is that of a female, who could be a foreigner, Shukla said.

Out of the 57 injured, which include foreigners, 20 have been discharged while the rest are undergoing treatment at Jehangir, Ruby, Surya, Budharani, Medi point, Sancheti and Sasson hospitals in Pune.

To a query, Shukla denied there were leads to indicate that foreigners were actual targets in the incident. 

The security at vital installations, religious places, railway stations and other places frequented by foreigners had been beefed up, she said, adding cases were taken against unidentified persons under relevant sections of the IPC, Indian Explosive Act, Arms Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in Bund garden police station of Pune.