Pune blast: ATS banks on forensic results of DNA samples

Pune, Feb 21 (PTI) Eight days after the terror attack in
western city of Pune, a breakthrough in the probe has eluded
Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) which is pinning its
hopes on the forensic results of the DNA samples collected
from the site of the blast at German Bakery.

The death toll in the blast on the night of February 13
meanwhile rose to 15 when two students succumbed to their
injuries at a hospital here on Sunday. The victims were
identified as Rajeev Agarwal (23) from Symbiosis college and
Vikas Tulsiyani (24)from D Y Patil College here. Rajeev and
Vikas hailed from Kolkata and Delhi respectively, they added.
The forensic experts have lifted nearly 70 DNA samples
from the scene of explosion and were trying to match them with
those who had either been killed or were injured, official
sources said on Sunday.
A senior official said the agency wants to rule out all
possibilities before moving on in the investigations and
hinted that a profiling of all the DNA samples collected would
be conducted.
The explosion had not left any clues about the mode of
detonations but there were suspicions that either a timer or a
mobile phone was used for detonation of the bomb whose
ingredients were reprotedly 99 per cent of deadly RDX and one
per cent Ammonium Nitrate, sources in the investigating agency
said.
The ATS along with security agencies were examining
almost all the telephone calls in and around the German Bakery
that was picked at the time of the blast.
The ATS has drawn a blank so far from the interrogation
report of a few jailed Indian Mujahideen (IM) terrorists to
get some leads on who could be behind the attack in which two
foreigners were killed.
The investigators were also baffled by the quickness with
which the local police had washed the blast site with water
thinking that was a gas cylinder blast. PTI SKL
SDE