Bengaluru: Police have widened the investigation in the case involving explosives found along the route of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s motorcade on the outskirts of the city on May 10.
Special teams of investigators from Bengaluru South district are searching for clues beyond the crime scene and close to the Tamil Nadu border.
Two gelatin sticks, six incense sticks, a matchbox and cellophane tapes, along with a battery pack, wires and what appeared to be a circuit board were found 20 meters away on a dirt road adjacent to the forested area near Kanakapura Road.
Modi’s motorcade later passed through the streets as he was scheduled to attend a program at the Art of Living Ashram. Sources said that, prima facie, the explosives were planted in an “amateur manner”.
“The circuit board was not connected to the gelatin sticks and the battery pack. It seems highly unlikely that someone put an explosive in the box and covered it with a cellophane tape. The whole setup looks amateurish. It was either an attempt to scare him or someone must have dropped it there. We are investigating,” said a senior police officer.
Sources said the gelatin sticks appeared to be old, but an expert was awaited before drawing any conclusions.
Police are investigating whether there was any local trouble around the scene that prompted someone to plant the explosives. They are yet to establish a terror angle and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) remained on the sidelines, offering support without fully taking over the investigation.
Police have registered an FIR under Section 4 (punishment for attempt to cause explosion or for making or possessing explosive with intent to endanger life or property) of the Explosive Substances Act and Section 9B of the Explosives Act.
