Security agencies save Delhi from bomb blast, 5kg RDX found Published: Friday, Oct 14, 2011

Security agencies save Delhi from bomb blast, 5kg RDX found

Published: Friday, Oct 14, 2011, 9:00 IST

By Team DNA | Place: New Delhi, Ambala | Agency: DNA

A tragedy was averted when security agencies seized a car laden with five kilos of RDX in Ambala in Haryana, possibly meant to target Delhi during the festival season. The incident brought back memories of 2005 when markets across Delhi were targeted by terrorists during the Diwali.

The amount of RDX was enough to trigger a massive explosion which could have killed hundreds of people. While Delhi is believed to be the target of this terror consignment, officials also feel the Ambala military cantonment, which houses Indian Air Force base could also be on the radar.

Delhi police, who rushed to Ambala after getting a tip off, told DNA they stumbled upon the terror plot while chasing leads into the Delhi High Court blast in September. They have found two highly sophisticated timers and five detonators from the car.

Investigators feel the terror consignment was sent from Jammu & Kashmir and was supposed to have changed hands in Ambala when the police got lucky.

Intelligence sources told DNA the plot was planned and executed by the Pakistan based-Lashkar-e-Toiba which had carried out the attack on Mumbai on 26/11. Investigators believe the operation was carried out by the LeT and a sleeper cell of the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), a militant outfit which used to be active during the Khalistan movement in Punjab during the 1980s.

According to senior IB officials, the BKI has been revived with funding from terrorist sources in Germany to carry out attacks in India in conjunction with jihadi outfits operating out of Pakistan.
As per the intelligence sources, Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI, has also played a key role in reviving banned terror groups like the BKI and the Khalistan Zindabad Force.

“We had inputs that an LeT module active in Kashmir was planning to strike in Delhi. Investigations were done and found that the explosives were meant for the BKI. We received a specific input on Wednesday about the movement. We shared this information with our Haryana counterparts,” Arun Kampani, DCP, Special Cell, said on Thursday.

The recovery of an “ABCD timer” hints at the sophisticated nature of the bomb and can be switched on at least 20 days before the blast, sources said.