A team of Delhi Police Special Cell on Saturday visited the blast site near the Israel embassy to collect more evidence as part of its ongoing probe. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) too reached the IED blast spot and inspected the area. The National Security Guard (NSG) has been roped in by the Centre to examine characteristics of the explosives used in the explosion.
Investigators probing the blast near the Israel embassy have not come across anything concrete yet as most of the CCTV cameras near the site of the explosion were non-functional at the time of incident, said the official police sources.
A CCTV footage of the Israel embassy blast site obtained by the Special Cell team has revealed that a cab had dropped two persons who walked towards the spot near the embassy where the IED explosion took place on Friday evening. Cops have contacted the driver of the vehicle and sketches of the two people are being prepared
“We have recovered some CCTV footage but have not obtained anything concrete yet as most of the CCTV cameras near the embassy are non-functional. The footage showed a vehicle moving suspiciously near the embassy just before the explosion,” said the source.
It was claimed that the cab driver himself had called police, he has been identified and is being questioned and verifying his statements.
The sources have found that the conspiracy of this blast was hatched abroad and they wanted to take help of locals to execute this plan.
The day was well chosen as on that day agencies were busy tackling other events such as beating retreat, and the focus of Delhi Police was on State borders. The intention was to show their presence on an international level.
Another source said that forensic experts have also collected some samples from the crime scene that will ascertain the chemical composition used in the low-intensity improvised explosive device (IED).
Official sources said ball bearings seized from the spot were found scattered on the ground and the impact of the explosion was felt within a radius of 20-25 metres.
A half-burnt cloth and polythene bag recovered from the explosion site near the Israel Embassy is being examined by the authorized agencies. Its link to the incident is yet to be ascertained.
Further cops are questioning a few Iranians living in the national Capital. The foreign nationals being questioned include those whose visas have expired.
Meanwhile, probe agencies are investigating the Telegram account from which the viral screenshot was sent that claimed Jaish-Ul-Hind has taken responsibility for the explosion.
Jaish ul Hind, an unknown organization, has claimed responsibility after a screenshot claiming to be from messaging service Telegram has gone viral on social media in which ‘Jaish-Ul-Hind’ claimed it was behind the blast.
However cops reiterate that until any concrete evidence is found it is difficult to say. Jaish-Ul-Hind claims, “By the grace and help of Almighty Allah, soldiers of Jaish-Ul-Hind were able to infiltrate a high security area in Delhi and carried out an IED attack. This Allah willingly began a series of attacks which would target major Indian cities and pay back in kind to the atrocities committed by the Indian state. Wait and we are waiting too.”
The minor blast took place on Friday evening in a high-security zone of the national Capital. No one was injured. An envelope addressed to the Israeli Embassy and containing a note was found at the site of the blast.
Initial investigations revealed that the IED was planted in a flower pot on the median near Jindal House on A P J Abdul Kalam road outside the Israeli embassy, sources said on Friday. Delhi police has already registered a case while the NIA is also likely to register a case.
A 10-member team from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) had on Friday visited the blast site and collected residues which include metallic swab and ball bearings.
Delhi Police Commissioner S N Shrivastava too had visited the site in the evening and took stock of the situation. The blast took place when President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were present a couple of kilometres away at the Beating Retreat ceremony at the culmination of the Republic Day celebrations.
The explosion took place on a day when India and Israel marked the completion of the 29th anniversary of establishment of their diplomatic relations.