People thrash a man questioned after the blasts at the venue of Narendra Modi's rally in Patna on Sunday
Six people have been named in an FIR for the string of bomb blasts in Patna on Sunday in which six people died and more than 80 were injured. The blasts took place just before the BJP's candidate for prime minister, Narendra Modi, addressed a huge rally in the city. The police say their investigations have revealed links to the terror group, the Indian Mujahideen.
Here are the 10 latest developments in the story:
Two of the six suspects named in the FIR were arrested yesterday. They were caught at the train station, where the first of the seven bombs exploded. One of them, Ainul alias Tarique, is critically injured and in hospital.
The police say the alleged mastermind is a 23-year-old computer-savvy quick-change artist named Tehseen Akhtar, who has been active in Bihar and is among the top leaders of the Mujahideen. (Tehseen Akhtar, the alleged mastermind, was in Patna on Sunday)
Sources say that each of the crude bombs was packed with half a kilo of explosives. Timers were used to detonate them. The bombs are similar to those used in terror attacks in the pilgrimage town of Bodh Gaya in July. (Patna blasts: security lapses appear basic, and plenty)
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has alleged that there were no lapses in security arrangements for Mr Modi's rally. He said that there were no intelligence inputs that warned of a possible strike in Patna. (No intel warning, no security lapses: Nitish on Patna blasts)
But the BJP says the state government was warned that there could be some sort of terror strike in Patna for Sunday's rally for Mr Modi. BJP leader Arun Jaitley told NDTV that "My sources also tell me that there was a general alert on October 1, a specific alert on October 23 on Indian Mujahideen with regards to Hunkar rally." (There was intelligence alert, Nitish Kumar ignored it, says BJP)
A letter sent to the Bihar Police just five days ago warned that Narendra Modi, the BJP's candidate for Prime Minister, could be "targeted by rabid groups." The letter, sent by the Intelligence Bureau's branch in Patna, counters the claim by the Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar that there was no warning from central or state intelligence agencies that Mr Modi or his supporters could be targeted at the massive rally he held on Sunday. (Modi could be targeted, Intelligence Bureau wrote to Bihar Police)
The Bihar Police countered that the same letter did not offer specifics. "Presently there is no threat to the security of the VVIP visiting Patna was the first line of the letter," said Abhayanand, the Director General of Bihar Police, reading out the note to reporters this evening.
Mr Jaitley, who was present at the rally, says that the Bihar Police offered no advice on whether the gathering should be cancelled or delayed. "We had decided how to handle the crowd without the advice of the Bihar Police. We did not want to create panic," said Mr Jaitley, stressing that leaders like him were worried that if the crowd felt it was vulnerable to a terror strike, a stampede could erupt. (Why Narendra Modi went ahead with Patna rally despite blasts)
The Bihar Police claims that it asked for the rally to be delayed by 45 minutes, and that it informed BJP leaders that it did not have the resources to sanitise every part of the large public park. The motive of the blasts, say the police, was allegedly to create panic and possibly trigger a stampede at Mr Modi's rally.
Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde is unlikely to visit Patna tomorrow as announced earlier in the day. Sources say Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has some prior engagement tomorrow, forcing the Home Minister to cancel his trip. (Home Minister at Bollywood event after Patna blasts, BJP asks why)
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