Serial blasts; eight picked up for questioning

Wed, May 14 12:05 PM
Jaipur, May 14 (PTI) Eight persons were picked up for questioning for their suspected role in the serial blasts that rocked the city killing at least 60 people as authorities today clamped curfew in 15 areas as a precautionary measure. Those picked up for interrogation included a man who was injured in the explosions and a rickshaw puller as investigations pointed towards involvement of Bangladesh-based Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami (HUJI) in the explosions, informed sources said.
The toll in last night's blasts has been unofficially put at 85. One live bomb placed on a handle bar of a bicycle and found near the blasted areas have been defused, police said, noting that all the explosions were triggered with the help of timers between two Hanuman temples in heavily crowded areas of the old city.
"We have collected sufficient evidence from the place of the blasts. These things are being analysed by our technical experts.
There was one explosive which we have defused," Superintendent of Police, Jaipur, Raghvendra Suhasa said. Preliminary examination of the blast site indicated the possibility of ammonium nitrate being used in the explosive devices which were filled with ball bearings and small iron pipes to act as splinters, the sources said.
The blasts showed that HUJI, which is being mainly run from Bangladesh, has managed to establish cells in the desert state, they said. Curfew, which came into force at 9 am, has been imposed in 15 police station areas as a precautionary measure.
It will remain in force till 6 pm. PTI.