Patna/Ranchi : Investigations in the Patna serial blasts have revealed an Indian Mujahideen (IM) link and one of the two arrested suspects belongs to the ‘Ranchi Module” of the banned terror outfit.
In all six people have been named in the FIR related to the blasts, which took place just before Narendra Modi addressed a huge rally in the city.
The police said that the alleged mastermind of the blasts was a computer-savvy 23-year-old named Tehseen Akhtar, who is among the top leaders of the Mujahideen and was an alleged close aide of IM founder Yaseen Bhatkal. Incidentally, Akhtar, who has been on the radar of investigators in connection with other attacks, was in Patna on Sunday, police sources told a TV channel.
Imtiaz Ansari, one of the two arrested suspects, allegedly had contacts with Tahseen. The other suspect was identified as Tausim.Sources said that each of the crude bombs was packed with half a kilo of explosives. Timers were used to detonate them. The bombs were similar to those used in terror attacks in Bodh Gaya in July.
The motive of the blasts, the police said, was allegedly to create panic and possibly trigger a stampede at Modi’s rally.
The blast mastermind Akhtar had constituted three groups for carrying out the blasts — one team attacked the Railway station, where the first blast took place. The other two groups are suspected to have struck at the Gandhi Maidan, the venue of the BJP rally.
There were six blasts in and around the park; the police recovered four live bombs later.
