Although investigators are not completely ruling out the hand of Hindu fundamentalists in the Malegaon blasts last Friday which killed 30 people, confirmation of the use of RDX and the discovery of an electronic circuit from the blast site have brought Islamic terror groups under the scanner.

The Nashik forensic laboratory today confirmed the presence of RDX in the bombs that went off in the Hamidiya mosque and Mushawarat chowk in Malegaon. “The first lab reports state that the samples contained a mixture of RDX, nitrite, ammonium nitrate, petroleum and hydrocarbon oil,” said SP (Nashik Rural) Rajyavardhan. “Two more lab results are awaited. Any link between the Malegaon and Mumbai blasts can only be established after all the lab results are in.”

Besides the first forensic details, officials claim that they have got definite leads from a number of eye-witnesses who came forward after sketches of the first two suspects were released on Sunday. The sketches have been circulated among residents of Malegaon through posters pasted on public transport vehicles. A third sketch was added to the list today, based on description by “fresh witnesses” of a man spotted near the mosque. Promising rewards for authentic tip-offs, the police have asked people to come forward with information and call on 02554-342197.

Meanwhile, 110 km away in Nashik, a live bomb, 17 gelignite sticks, four detonators and four pencil cells were recovered by the police. The bomb disposal squad defused the bomb within half-an-hour of receiving the information.

The tip-off came to the Bhadrakali police station at 4.15 pm when Harun Rangrej, a resident of Devang Apartments in Nashik, called to say he had moved an object from outside his apartment to an open ground. A team of Nashik’s bomb disposal unit defused the bomb.

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