Did a lone wolf trigger Church Street blast?

Bengaluru: The Church Street blast on December 28, 2014 was reportedly the first ‘lone wolf’ terror attack in the City.

“The Church Street blast was reportedly a lone wolf attack. If the suspect is not identified and caught then he may attack the second time and this time it would be more lethal because he would be better prepared,” warned a senior officer on condition of anonymity.

According to Intelligence and sources in the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is investigating the case the suspect had triggered the terror attack with logistic help from local and outside sympathizers of the banned terror outfits - Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and Indian Mujahideen (IM).

“It (the blast) seems to be the handiwork of a young man, who is in the video footage, which has been released by the NIA. He is around 5'11 tall and may be in his mid or late twenties. In the footage he has been caught moving suspiciously in the Church Street and MG Road area five times; between 7 pm and 7.30 pm. He is seen carrying two bags around 7 pm but by 7.30 pm he had dropped one of the bags. The blast was triggered around 8.30 pm. He could be the man, the NIA is looking for,” said an official source, who added that the suspect could be the same man, whose sketch was prepared by the Central Crime Branch of Bengaluru police, which was initially investigating the case before it was handed over to the NIA in May last year.

The CCB had reportedly created a sketch of the suspect and shared it with the anti terrorist squads (ATS) of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and the Central Intelligence agencies, which were assisting the probe but because of lack of clarity regarding his face, the police didn’t release the sketch in the public domain.

“We had downloaded hundreds of CCTV footages from all shops, restaurants and other establishments in a radius of two kilometres; from Church Street to Brigade Road and had viewed them closely for a month. We had zeroed in on three-four footages and prepared a sketch of the suspect,” said an officer from the City police.

The NIA has announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh for credible information of the man in the footage leading to his arrest. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had earlier announced a cash reward of the same amount.

CCTV footage of little help to sleuths
“Though hundreds of CCTV footage in the radius of two kilometres; from Empire Hotel on Church Street to Brigade Road were downloaded and studied for over a month by the City police soon after a low intensity blast had claimed the life of a Chennai-based woman and injured several other people on December 28, 2014, none of the footages gave a correct picture of the suspect because of lack of clarity,” said an official source.

The CCTV footages, which were later extensively examined by the National Investigation Agency and even sent to London, were found lacking precision and sufficient data. The NIA has released a video clipping of a suspect, which is said to be the closest to ‘possible breakthrough’ in the case.

The improvised explosive device (IED) used in the terror attack was reportedly a potent mix of ammonium nitrate with another oxidant - potassium perchlorate and aluminum powder with nails and shrapnels and was detonated using a timer device. “The IED was placed inside an elbow pipe, which was also used in Bodh Gaya blasts and during Narendra Modi’s Patna rally in 2013. The City police had fanned out their teams to Allahabad, Mirzapur and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh from where the elbow pipes, which were used in Patna and Bodh Gaya blasts, were reportedly purchased. They had even sent a team to Jalandhar, where elbow pipes are forged but couldn’t locate the source,” the officer added.

SIMI’s Haider alias Black Beauty
City police had brought Haider Ali alias Black Beauty, who is reportedly the main accused in the 2013 Patna rally to Bengaluru on transit remand for custodial interrogation. He is currently in judicial custody. “However Ali has denied any information on the Church Street blast case,” said the officer.