Month after blast,no clue on perpetrators

State ATS chief K P Raghuvanshi had personally appealed to people through media to furnish cops with any information they might have. Sources said Raghuvanshi had also given his two mobile phone numbers asking people to contact him directly.

Pune police had appealed to auto-rickshaw drivers in Koregaon Park area to provide them any information,as police suspect that the persons who placed the bag containing the explosives may have arrived and left the German Bakery in an auto-rickshaw. However,auto-rickshaw drivers have been unable to furnish any vital clue so far.

The officially confirmed fact so far is that a mixture of RDX,ammonium nitrate and hydrocarbon was used in the blast. Police suspect the blast was triggered using a remote control or a cellphone but there is no confirmation on that,yet.

Sources said investigators detained several persons and left them after questioning.

Sketches of some suspects were being made from eyewitness accounts and police were also probing phone calls made from the city on the day of the blast,sources said.

A lesser-known group,LeT Al Alami,had claimed responsibility a few days after the blast. The Pune police had received letters from two groups called “SIMI International” and Mujahideen Islami Muslim Front” claiming responsibility. The hand of Indian Mujahideen (IM) was not being ruled out either,sources said.

Investigators say they were yet to confirm involvement of any terror group or persons in the blast.

The hand of a new group cannot be ruled out,they said.

Film on blast

A short film on the German Bakery blast has been made by Pune-based A K Films. The film would be shown to the media on Saturday,exactly a month after the blast. 

“The film is 13.20 minutes long. We want to give a social message through it. It focuses on the blast victims and the role of citizens in preventing such incidents. The film includes some slides and clips of the German Bakery after the blast,” said Avdhut Kharade,director of the film.

“The film is not about investigations into the blast. Also,there is nothing in the film that may hamper investigations,” Kharade who has recently done a course from the New York Film Academy,said,adding: “The film will be screened for media persons on March 13,exactly a month after the blast. Later we would upload it on youtube.com so that everyone can see it.”