Chandigarh, March 11
The Haryana Police has made a major breakthrough in the Delhi-Attari Express train blasts, near Panipat, which claimed the lives of 68 persons, most of them Pakistanis.
It has been able to establish conclusively that the blasts had a link with Madhya Pradesh in general and Indore in particular.
Additional director-general of Haryana Police V.N. Rai, who is supervising the
investigations of the highly ticklish case, told TNS from Bhopal that a police team of the state had identified the shop from where six suitcases were purchased by the suspects. These suitcases were used to pack explosives as well as plastic bottles containing petroleum products. These suitcases were placed in the couches of the ill-fated train at Old Delhi Railway Station.
He said the police had also identified the tailor who stitched the cloth covers of the suitcases.
The shop, which sold the suitcases, and the tailor shop are located in Indore. The police has questioned them.
The Haryana Police had contacted the manufacturers of the suitcases and plastic bottles used in the train blasts. From the manufacturers, it learnt the names of distributors. Further inquiries led the police to Indore. The owner of the shop selling suitcases confirmed that he had sold six suitcases to certain persons, the identity of whom is yet to be established. Similarly, the tailor also confirmed that he had stiched the covers. He identified one cover recovered from the site as the one stiched by him. The cover had his mark, "600", on it. The tailor also confirmed that the mark was in his handwriting.
When asked if the description provided by the suitcase seller and the tailor would help the Haryana Police to improve upon the sketches of the suspects released by it, Rai said at the moment he was not in a position to comment on the issue.
The Haryana team, led by Inspect V. Singh, had reached March 1 after it found that the plastic bottles used in the blasts was manufactured by a Mumbai-based company, which had supplied them in Indore.
