Experts confirm: Timers were used in Malegaon

Investigating agencies today confirmed that the bombs used in last Friday's blasts in Malegaon were timed devices even as the police increased surveillance in anticipation of Friday prayers and detained an additional 25 people from localities across the city.

"NSG experts have confirmed that timers were used in the blasts carried out last Friday. Experts have found that an Orpat watch and batteries were used in the bombs," Nashik (rural) SP Rajvardhan said here today. The police have appealed to shopkeepers in the city and surrounding areas to inform authorities if any suspicious person has brought an Orpat alarm clock in the last 45 days.

Meanwhile, the police are expecting the second forensic report on the bombs by tomorrow evening. Forensic tests on the bombs are being carried out by the National Security Guard's forensic team, the Maharashtra State Forensic team and the Central Forensic Science Laboratory at Hyderabad.

The police have also stepped up investigations and detained an additional 25 people from localities across Malegaon for questioning. The police had yesterday detained 20 people but most of them were released after checking their antecedents.

"We have received vital clues and we are carrying out parallel investigations on three or four tracks. Our teams have gone outside to carry out investigation in this regard and we will be sending two more teams outside tomorrow," Rajvardhan said.

The police have also increased surveillance in anticipation of Friday prayers tomorrow and have appealed to the people not to bring bags to mosques and to park their cycles at a distance from the buildings. Additional men will be deployed in plain clothes and bomb disposal squads will carry out checks at various religious institutions in the city. In a bid to involve both Hindus and Muslims in patrolling, the police has also decided to set up and train a group of dedicated volunteers from both the communities to keep a watch on places of worship.

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