Israeli diplomat's car attacked: Bomber knew area, evaded CCTV
The bomb that gutted an Israel embassy car close to the prime minister's residence on Monday was of an advanced type not used before in the city.
By Neeraj Chauhan, TNN | Updated:
NEW DELHI: The bomb that gutted an Israel embassy car close to the prime minister's residence on Monday was of an advanced type not used before in the city. While investigators described it as a 'low intensity incendiary device', a senior police official told TOI, "The bomb was perfectly made and we have never seen such a bomb in Delhi. Maybe, it was made by foreign experts".
The lone eyewitness in the case, Gopal, told investigators he saw a man on a motorbike stick a large object to the Toyota Innova's tailgate. After assessing the damage caused by the bomb, experts estimated it to be the size of an executive diary. They said it had been stuck to the car with a magnet and was probably actuated by remote control, as it exploded within seconds of the biker's pushing off.
Late in the evening, the police were also able to confirm Gopal's description of the bomber as "wearing a brown jacket and black helmet, and riding a red bike". On reviewing footage from two CCTV cameras outside the Aurangzeb Road bungalow of Max India chairman Analjit Singh, the police found the biker tailing the Innova around 3.10pm. Like Gopal, the cameras located opposite Claridges Hotel could not resolve the bike's registration number. "Since the cameras were positioned perpendicular to the passing bike, the number plates are not visible. However, we have called experts to clear the images," said a source.
Another senior official said, "There are CCTV cameras at the Israel embassy and 7RCR (PM's residence) but the biker is not seen in footage from both. The attackers had done a thorough recce; they must have started following the car from Tughlak Road roundabout as there are no CCTV cameras there".
Regarding the bomb, investigators said such magnetic devices are often used by terrorists in Iran, Israel, southeast Asia, Egypt, Turkey, Georgia, Armenia and some other countries, and the bomb may have been planted by local sympathizers - like Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) - of anti-Israel groups.
However, police commissioner BK Gupta, while categorically calling the blast a terror attack, said they had no clue about the group involved or the explosive used.
The lone eyewitness in the case, Gopal, told investigators he saw a man on a motorbike stick a large object to the Toyota Innova's tailgate. After assessing the damage caused by the bomb, experts estimated it to be the size of an executive diary. They said it had been stuck to the car with a magnet and was probably actuated by remote control, as it exploded within seconds of the biker's pushing off.
Late in the evening, the police were also able to confirm Gopal's description of the bomber as "wearing a brown jacket and black helmet, and riding a red bike". On reviewing footage from two CCTV cameras outside the Aurangzeb Road bungalow of Max India chairman Analjit Singh, the police found the biker tailing the Innova around 3.10pm. Like Gopal, the cameras located opposite Claridges Hotel could not resolve the bike's registration number. "Since the cameras were positioned perpendicular to the passing bike, the number plates are not visible. However, we have called experts to clear the images," said a source.
Another senior official said, "There are CCTV cameras at the Israel embassy and 7RCR (PM's residence) but the biker is not seen in footage from both. The attackers had done a thorough recce; they must have started following the car from Tughlak Road roundabout as there are no CCTV cameras there".
Regarding the bomb, investigators said such magnetic devices are often used by terrorists in Iran, Israel, southeast Asia, Egypt, Turkey, Georgia, Armenia and some other countries, and the bomb may have been planted by local sympathizers - like Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) - of anti-Israel groups.
However, police commissioner BK Gupta, while categorically calling the blast a terror attack, said they had no clue about the group involved or the explosive used.
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While searching for clues, the police found a powdery substance which they initially suspected to be RDX but later said might be nitroglycerin. No wires or detonators from the bomb remained. A team from the Central forensics lab has taken the samples for analysis.Download
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