SIMI link to Pune blast emerges

Two days after the German Bakery blast, a Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), connection to the incident has started emerging. Investigators suspect that the Indian Mujahideen (IM) could have roped in local SIMI activists to execute the operation.

According to top police officials, IM co-founder Riyaz Bhatkal, who is currently untraceable, had stayed in Pune for two years and was well-connected to the SIMI network. The police suspect Bhatkal used this network to conduct the blast. They have arrested two persons of the proscribed organisation for questioning.

The SIMI’s strong connection with Bangladesh-based terror outfits could also have helped IM procure the explosives. Investigators are now certain that an improvised explosive device (IED) went off at the bakery.

The device contained a mixture of approximately 2.5kg of solid ammonium nitrate and RDX. The RDX, which primarily provided intensity to the explosion, may have been brought to Pune from Bangladesh, a highly-placed police official said.

Investigators told DNA that the explosive may have been triggered by using a mobile phone, a clock timer, relay timer or a planned circuit.

Pune police commissioner Satyapal Singh said the investigation was on the right track. He, however, refused to disclose the details of the report submitted by the forensic department to the Pune police and state government about contents of the explosive.