Handiwork of organised group, suggest initial findings
INVESTIGATORS SAY PETN brought from states where hard rock or coal mining is done
Initial findings of the team probing the recovery of explosive inside UP assembly suggest that PETN (Pentaerythritol tetranitrate) must have been brought from some other states where hard rock or coal mining is done.
The probe team also believes that transporting and planting the powder in such a high security zone must be a handiwork of an organised group, and not an act of a single person.
PETN is very high potential explosive powder and not usually available in UP.
“PETN is available in states such as Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, AP and Karnataka where it is used in mining of hard rock or coal,” said G Khan, joint director of state forensic science laboratory, Mahanagar.
“In UP, explosives like ammonium nitrate and gelatin are used for the same purpose,” he claimed. It is tough to arrange this explosive powder here as even miners do not get it easily, he said.
He said the forensic examination of the powder had confirmed it to be PETN but its purity level is not known. He said its sample is being sent to explosive unit of Agra forensic laboratory to examine the purity level.
Initial probe indicates that somebody would have arranged PETN from some other states and then it would have been secretly transported to Lucknow and handed over to a person, who had access to the assembly, said a senior police officer . Then the explosive would have been handed over to a person who had access into the VVIP arena, he added. “Interestingly, only legislators or assembly members, marshals and those responsible for Vidhan Sabha security and cleaning have access to such areas,” he said.
FIR AGAINST UNKNOWN PERSONS
Lucknow police lodged an FIR against unidentified persons in connection with recovery of PETN from UP assembly. The FIR was registered with Hazratganj police station on the complaint of Vidhan Sabha marshal, Manish Chandra Rai. It said the powder was detected by sleuths of anti-mines and bomb disposal squads during routine checking before the start of assembly session.
ATS, NIA BEGIN PROBE
The UP ATS and NIA have started investigating the recovery of PETN in the legislative assembly. IG (ATS) Asim Arun said evidence was being collected from the main hall and surrounding areas of the Vidhan Bhavan.
DEVELOPED DURING THE WORLD WAR II IN GERMANY, THE PETN’S USE IN INDIA HAS BEEN NEGLIGIBLE IN TERROR STRIKES