Possibility of suicide bomber in Mumbai attacks ruled out

Lily

B.R
Staff member
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Mumbai: Ruling out the possibility of the involvement of a suicide bomber in Wednesday's bomb attacks, Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Rakesh Maria Saturday said investigators are pursuing "good leads" that could pinpoint those involved in the blasts that killed 19 people and injured 133 others.

He said a sketch of one of the suspects would be readied later in the night.

"Based on forensic opinion and visit to the various sites, I think we can now rule out the possibility of a suicide bomber," Maria said in a press briefing for media on the progress of investigation into Wednesday's blasts.

Maria said police would likely release an artist's sketch of one of the suspects within the day. The sketch will be based on an account of a witness who was at the crime scene.

Maria, however, declined to specify from which of the three blast sites the witness had seen the suspect.

The ATS chief clarified that the charred scooter found at Zaveri Bazaar which was earlier identified as the one where a bomb had been planted has also been ruled out as a "suspect" vehicle.

He said investigators are looking into other vehicles.

Maria said that investigators are zeroing in on closed circuit television (CCTV) footage which shows an image of a possible suspect.

"There are a lot of grains in the CCTV footage. We are seeking the help of technical experts to have the quality of the image improved," he said.

Crime underworld

Maria said investigators were also looking into the possible involvement of the criminal underworld in the blasts.

Despite repeated queries, Maria declined to give a hint on which group is responsible for the attack.

He said ATS and Mumbai Police Crime Branch teams were sent to Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, New Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat and Rajasthan to pursue leads.
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