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'Gelatine used in Mumbai blast'

By Our Special Correspondent

MUMBAI JULY 30. Contrary to earlier disclosures, the explosive used on a bus on Monday night was not a mix of potassium chlorate, ammonium nitrate, sugar and sulphuric acid but gelatine with an electronic timer.

Earlier, the mix weighing three kg, had a tube of sulphuric acid which was broken and the acid allowed to drip. For it to lead to an explosion, the time required was full 55 minutes. That meant, the person planting the explosive had to do the ``triggering'' somewhere else, leave it on a target and then flee the scene for safety.

Now, the lead time is increased since it could be set by using electronic timers which implied that the planting could be done anywhere in the vast metropolis with impunity. Earlier, the cruder device gave the person not more than 55 minutes, by one estimate. That is why, it is suspected, the blasts, except the one in the Mumbai central station, were set off within a small geographical area.

This area was bound by Mulund-Ghatkopar on the eastern flank of the city and Vile Parle-Andheri on the western fringe which makes authorities feel that the shelter for these people for operational reasons was somewhere in the centre of this swath. Now, with the use of electronic timers, the entire logistics can change.

The Chief Minister, Sushilkumar Shinde, has said, ``We are looking into the reasons why the blasts are occurring in one area alone''. The flexibility that ensues with the introduction of this new device has the police worried. So the plan is to ask the people to be more alert.

In the buses and trains, frequent announcements are planned to be made asking people to watch out for any unattended items which are suspicious.

In the municipalised buses, the plan is to have pre-recorded taped messages counselling caution and need for being alert. The plan is being assessed for financial outlays required ``but we will have to do it.

For people tend to be careful after a bitter experience and then lapse into carelessness''.

If someone had seen the two bombs placed on the bus on Monday night, it may have been pre-empted, or the passengers evacuated.

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