The powerful bomb that ripped through German Bakery in Pune was apparently left in a backpack, Home Minister P. Chidambaram said on Sunday.
Chidambaram told reporters that the terrorist who brought the bomb to the German bakery Saturday evening may have posed as a customer.
'The bomb was apparently planted in a backpack and left there. The person apparently came there as a customer, unlike the usual gun-wielding terror attacks,' he said.
After the bag had been left there, the keeper melted in the crowd. Nobody apparently bothered as everybody thought it belonged to the next person. It was only after a waiter in the bakery-cum-restaurant attempted to open the backpack that the bomb exploded.
Chidambaram said despite the presence of security in the sensitive zone, comprising a Jewish worship house and the Osho Ashram, the German bakery became a 'soft target'.
Unless these soft targets also adopt strict security measures, it would be difficult to detect things, he said.
He said whether the German bakery had put in place any such measures would be probed.
The home minister said that the area was in a sensitive zone and the local police were already sensitised about it.
'Police presence was there, it was patrolled as usual, there was no diversion of police from this area. But this was not the usual gun-weilding type of terror attack but an 'insidious' attack,' he said.
Chidambaram said the blast case will be cracked soon and investigators were ruling out nothing.
'The investigators are on their job. We don't rule out anything, we don't rule in anything. Until they are through, I will not speculate on anything,' he said.
Declining to identify specifically the group or individual who perpertrated the attacks, Chidambaram said that 'let the investigators complete their investigations'.
He said it was too early to speculate what were the motives behind the attack or whether any particular group or nationality were targeted.
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) will carry out investigations into the blast and the conspiracy behind it.
Chidambaram said even the NIA has been summoned to study and get first-hand experience of the terror attack.
Earlier, Chidambaram surveyed the scene of the blast accompanied by Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, Home Minister R.R. Patil, Minister of State Home Ramesh Bagwe, Pune Police Commissiner Satyapal Singh and other officials.
Later, he visited the injured undergoing treatment at various hospitals and was full of praise for the efforts by the medical authorities, especially at the Sassoon Hospital. The next of kin of those killed will get Rs 5 lakh assistance from Maharashtra govt, Chavan announced.
