Bomb had more PETN,less shrapnel: Cops

Though there are no traces a timer device yet,investigators said “a sophisticated and powerful bomb cannot go off without an aid”. Also,less shrapnel was used in this explosive device,when compared to the earlier one,which had rusted nails.

On May 25,a small explosion took place when a bomb placed beneath a car in the High Court campus failed to detonate properly. The parking attendant saw fumes coming from under the car and alerted the police.

The bomb,which was used on Wednesday,was packed in a small briefcase and the impact was so great that the wall near the blast site developed cracks.

Many of the injured also suffered burns,which could have been possible due to the presence of PETN — a pressure-based explosive. Police have collected samples of the explosive from a lawyer’s BMW car,which was parked nearby. The impact of the blast was such that a two-by-four-feet crater was formed on the pathway where it went off.

Police said they have not found any remnants of the briefcase yet. “All we have found of the briefcase is an aluminium strip that was attached to it. The briefcase was really small,of the size of a file,” said Dharmendra Kumar,Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order).

Secretary (Internal Security) U K Bansal said the bomb had traces of ammonium nitrate and was laced with PETN,which is odourless and jelly-like.

Ammonium nitrate was used in the May 25 blast also,but a failed detonator reduced its impact.

Delhi Police received a forensic report in the May 25 incident which said that the bomb was composed of ammonium nitrate and old rusted batteries were also used.