The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Special team to probe bomb blasts

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Friday, Sep 22, 2006
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Special team to probe bomb blasts

Staff Reporter

City Police Commissioner to coordinate

Thiruvananthapuram: The State police have constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to inquire into the "letter bomb" explosions in the capital on Thursday. Inspector-General of Police, South Zone, Arun Kumar Sinha, will head the team. City Police Commissioner Manoj Abraham will coordinate the investigation.

At a hastily convened press conference here, Director General of Police (DGP) Raman Srivastava said the police were viewing the development very seriously. This is the first time in Kerala that postal service network has been used to deliver bombs concealed in envelops, he said.

CIB alerted

The DGP said that he had spoken with the Director, Central Intelligence Bureau (CIB), in New Delhi. The police would investigate all possible angles and bring the miscreants to book. He assured the public that the State police were fully geared to meet any emerging security challenge. "The police have certain clues about the identity and motive of the miscreants. But it is too early to divulge details," he said.

The DGP said security has been tightened in a very un-obstrusive way in the State. "The security system is very much in place though it might not be obvious to citizens," he said.

Unidentified persons had deposited the "letter bombs" at the Sreekariyam and Kariyavattom post offices on Wednesday. The police have already questioned three persons who regularly deposit bulk mail at the post offices. But no definite lead has emerged so far.

The mail was delivered to the Manacaud and Pattom post offices for distribution. One of the letter bombs exploded while being handled by a postal service employee at the Manacaud Post office around 9 a.m. The other letter exploded in the hands of a trader at Kesavadasapuram to whom it was addressed. No one was injured in the explosions that occurred on the day of the President of India's visit.

`Not lethal'

The Additional Director General of Police, Operations, Rajan. K. Madhekar said the explosive charge in the "letter bombs" was not potent enough to cause lethal burns.

A certain amount of expertise had gone into the making of the bomb. The circuitry of the bomb could not have been fashioned by an amateur. The "mail bombs" weighed about 50 gm each, nearly 30 gm more than a normal envelope. The stamp duty on the envelope was not sufficient to cover the cost of the delivery.

The envelopes containing the bombs were unusually thick and heavy. The "letter bombs" could have been easily mistaken for a weekly publication enclosed in an envelope. The addresses on the mails were computer printed and pasted on the saffron coloured envelopes. The address of the sender was found to be fake.

`To create panic'

The Additional Director General of Police, Intelligence Jacob Punnose said the motive of the "mail bomber" could have been to create panic on the eve of the President's visit. The design of the "letter bomb" was such that it could be used as a sly vehicle to deliver very lethal explosives to unsuspecting targets. The ADGP cautioned the public against rumour mongering. He said the Postal Department has been alerted.

Key Government departments, important public and private sector institutions have been asked not to open suspicious mail without police consent. Modern equipment, including "letter bomb" scanners will be acquired for meeting the new security challenge head on, he said.

The City Police Commissioner, who is an explosive expert trained in the United States, said that the bomb had "a rudimentary but very clever" design.

The designer was definitely no amateur. It could be a person with a technical background. He could have downloaded the bomb design from the Internet.

The police were also investigating the persons to whom the letter bombs were addressed. "Perhaps, their background would provide a clue to the identity of the mail bomber," another official said.

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