MUMBAI: Although forensic experts are still examining the explosive substances found at the Malegaon bomb sites, sources suggest the bombs did not appear similar to the devices used in recent Lashkar-e-Taiba attacks in Maharashtra.

Police say they have "some clues" but it is too premature to reveal details. Two boxes reportedly containing explosives were seized from the vicinity of one of the sites. Police sources say the crude nature of the explosives indicates that a sophisticated terror group did not make them. Investigators are checking whether the chemicals in Malegaon are similar to those used to make the explosive devices employed in recent attacks on mosques in Parbhani, Purna and Jalna in Maharashtra.

More people died in the stampede than of blast wounds, said a police official.

The bombs did not seem to be built to kill large numbers. However due to the Shab-e-Baraat (night of salvation) festival, the numbers gathered at the Sulemani mosque and Bada kabristan, where the bombs exploded, were huge and so the impact was much more dramatic. This made the terrorists look more successful than they actually were.

Speculation

Initially there was speculation that it might have been one Islamic terrorist group targeting another due to sectarian differences. The Sulemani mosque is run by an ultra-conservative organisation, which has not been the target of Islamist anger, unlike some Sufi shrines.

In April this year in Karachi, a terrorist group affiliated to the Deoband sect, bombed a congregation of the Berelvi sect. However, such sectarian motivation does not appear to have played a role in the Malegaon bombing. Sources in Malegaon say they are unaware of any sectarian power struggle.

The Shab-e-Baraat festival attracts thousands of Muslims, mainly fakirs, and those seeking alms from across the State, and this makes it an easy target, says Haroon B.A, editor of a local daily. Last year it was estimated that 2,000 people came from outside.

During questioning police found several ordinary alms-seekers and non-Muslims posing as fakirs asking for donations.

Hundreds of alms-seekers also sit outside the Masjid and the graveyard. Many of them and several children were killed in the explosion and the stampede that followed.

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