Visuals from the site of the explosion in Jammu and Kashmir Banihal
The Jammu and Kashmir Police sources have revealed that one person has been detained in the investigation for Banihal Santro blast case. The National Investigating Agency had been probing into the suspect since yesterday, the sources said.
Speaking to media after the arrest, the suspect confessed to staging a Pulwama-like attack. "I was asked on the phone to explode the convoy. My task was to drive the car and press the switch. I pressed the button while I was in the car. I was alone when I did it," he was quoted in ANI as saying.
The suspect had rammed his Santro car into CRPF convoy near Jawahar tunnel at Jammu-Srinagar highway on Saturday. The car, which had gas-cylinder, blew up on collision. No casualty has been reported in the incident.
The Pulwama-like incident had thrown the agencies and government into high alert, however, prima facie it appeared to be an accident and not an attack. "Prima facie blast in the car seems to be a cylinder explosion, CRPF convoy was at a significant distance from the explosion site, does not appear to be an attack," the news agency ANI had quoted CRPF sources as saying.
The driver of the car had escaped before the blast. The CRPF personnel recovered Urea, oil bottles, and two LPG cylinders from the burnt car.
"The explosion appears to have been caused by a gas cylinder inside the car but this is based on preliminary examination of the car's wreckage," a police officer said on Saturday.
