Ahmedabad Blasts

Twenty-four hours after 17 bombs rocked Ahmedabad, the focus on Sunday moved to Gujarat’s business centre – Surat – where two cars full of explosives were recovered.

Two live bombs were defused in Ahmedabad as well.

While in a night-long raid, the Ahmedabad police rounded up over 30 persons, the investigations picked up momentum after a man from Amreli, Kamlesh Patel, allegedly received a shocking phone call.

"I got a phone call in the evening after the blasts went off. (The caller) said kaam ho gaya (The work’s done). First it came from a mobile phone then the other call saying the same thing came from an Ahmedabad landline. The Deputy SP called me and I told him everything,” said Kamlesh.

An eyewitness in Surat also said the man who could have been carrying the bomb. “I saw a man who was wearing a copper-colour shirt, he had a plastic bag in his hand which he left here and ran away. A few others also saw him here,” he said.

With a little known group like Indian Mujahideen warning and claiming responsibility of the serial bombings, investigators are lapping up every bit of information. Even the defused bombs are a boon in disguise, they say as their make gives out vital clues.

Police are now hoping to have a better understanding of not just the quantity and material used but also the timer mechanism that triggered the bombs.

The first blast was triggered off at 6.45pm in Bapunagar's Sardar Patel Diamond Market. Within 15 minutes, Narol Circle, Isanpur Govindvadi, Jawahar Chowk and Maninagar bus stand, Juhapura, Civil hospital premises and Raipur Darwaza were rocked by blasts.

At 1900 hrs (IST), four simultaneous blasts were reported from Isanpur bus stand, Saranpur Chakla, Saranpur Darwaza and Khodiar Mandir. Within next 30 minutes, four more blasts rocked Rajendra Park, L G Hospital, Maninagar Char Rasta, and the surrounding area near Rajpur police Chowki.

In Mumbai, a potential lead went cold when the IP (Internet Protocol) address of an e-mail sent by a little-known terror outfit Indian Mujahideen was traced to an American National residing in Navi Mumbai but turned out to be the handiwork of a hacked.