Watch used as timer holds key to cracking Bodhgaya blasts

Investigators also said that a close examination of the analogue timer revealed that the bombs may have been planted about one hour before they went off.

NIA officials said the bombers wanted to target people who gather in large numbers during the morning prayers and the intention was to cause maximum damage. However,the explosions,in which two persons were injured,could not cause serious damage as the LPG cylinders used were of inferior quality,they said.

The NIA,which has now announced Rs 10 lakh reward for information leading to a breakthrough in the case,is also examining the defused bombs. Although it has not found clear fingerprints on them because of “multiple handling”,it is hopeful of getting clues during chemical examination. DGP Abhayanand confirmed the use of amonium nitrate in the bombs,but there is still no clarity on use of RDX and TNT.

The NIA is also taking help from the police to interrogate local criminals to find out if their help was taken in any manner in planting the bombs. The agency is also trying to trace the shops from where the cylinders were purchased.

The investigators said they were also examining a Twitter account,which claimed to be that of terror group Indian Mujahidin. They said the Internet Protocol address of the two tweets from the account — claiming responsibility for the blasts — has been traced to Pakistan.

The account was created a day before the blasts and it is possible that it was created to mislead investigations,said a senior NIA official. One of the tweets sent after the blasts said,“9 Dhamake Hum ne Karay (We carried out the nine blasts).” “But there were 10 bomb blasts and three live IEDs were recovered. It is possible that this might have been done to derail the investigation. We have sought help from Interpol and Twitter,” said the NIA official.

The second tweet said that the next target was Mumbai. Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said that details were being collected on this Twitter account.

Meanwhile,four Patna residents,including a JD-U state secretary,who had gone to Bodhgaya temple hours before the blast,were let off after questioning on Wednesday. They had voluntarily gone to the Patna Police to get their names cleared.

I-cards for monks now

PATNA: The Bodhi Temple Management Comittee will soon issue identity cards to resident monks and stick to three-layer metal detector testing — at the main entrance,Mahabodhi temple entry point and the gate of the sanctum sanctorum. The Bihar Military Police is now taking care of temple security. The committee has also decided to raise the height of the southern boundary wall of the temple. ENS