Two men were reported to have been detained tonight from Pune's Kudalwadi and Janawadi areas and several questioned as investigators probed the explosion at the German Bakery in the city, reports Indian Express.
As officials examined security camera footage taken from the nearby O Hotel, the 20-year-old daughter of the German Bakery owner said the eatery had its own CCTV camera.
“We had installed a CCTV camera a couple of years ago above the cash counter of the Bakery. But there was no camera overlooking the sitting area,” Snehal Kharose, who helps mother Smita Kharose run the eatery, told The Indian Express. Snehal said she had no idea whether the camera was working at the time of the blast.
Pune Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh said he had formed four teams to probe the attack. He said the investigation was on the “right track” and some people had been questioned. “As of now I will not be able to confirm or rule out any group,” Singh said.
Probe officials examining footage of the area are trying to figure if one of the two men seen entering the German Bakery was on a phone call at that time.
Sources said the footage shows two men entering the eatery — one carrying a red haversack, another on the phone.
Based on the statement of a waiter and the CCTV footage, the probe officials, sources said, suspect that the bag was brought in at least 30 minutes before it went off at 6.52 pm Saturday.
On the basis of the location and time recorded on the CCTV footage, officials are trying to establish if a call was made. “At this stage, one must realise that a GSM tower gives an estimate of over four lakh calls every minute for a distance of 7 km while a CDMA network will record calls for 20 km. This is yet to be verified if the person making the call is also a suspect, giving cover to the actual planter (of the bomb),” said an official.
Doctors and forensic experts have removed ball bearings and lead metal balls, packed with explosives for impact, from the injured. Dr Chetan Pradhan, who heads the trauma section of Sancheti Institute of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, removed nearly eight splinter pieces from a 27-year-old injured in the blast. “We also found a few ball bearings and lead balls,” said Pradhan.
In New Delhi, the Cabinet Committee on Security took stock of the situation arising out of the Pune blast and was said to have discussed issues related to the upcoming Foreign Secretary-level talks with Pakistan.
The meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, was attended by Home Minister P Chidambaram, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and Defence Minister A K Antony. National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and Union Home Secretary G K Pillai were also present.
Emerging from the meeting, Chidambaram said, “I briefed the CCS on the Pune blast.” He refused to comment when he was asked whether the Indo-Pak talks would be held as per schedule.
The government has directed authorities to expedite the filing of a chargesheet against David Coleman Headley so that it can once again approach the United States government with a request for access to the terror suspect who is currently facing federal charges in the US, including ones for conducting extensive surveillance of targets in Mumbai for more than two years preceding the 26/11 strikes.
Union Home Secretary G K Pillai said: “First, we have to file a chargesheet, then move a court for a Letter Rogatory and then approach the American court for access.”
He said Headley, during his interrogation by the FBI, had talked about the Karachi Project. “During his interrogation, Headley said that the Karachi Project was launched by the ISI with the objective of taking Indian youths to Pakistan, have them indoctrinated, give them training and send them back to India to carry out terror attacks.”
Saying the investigation into the Pune blast was still in the preliminary stage, Pillai said it was well known that organisations like the Indian Mujahideen had handlers across the border. “We cannot rule out or rule in the possibility of the involvement of foreign hands in the Pune blast,” he said.
