Why a string of bomb parts has MP and UP police on tenterhooks
The first of these suspect articles--a timer with a circuit--made an appearance on an underpass on the NH30 on the Rewa-Prayagraj Road on January 8, followed by a similar contraption on January 13, and again on January 16, this time on the Rewa-Mirzapur Road. The initial recovery had a letter mentioning Yogi Adityanath under it, while the latter recoveries had the letters pasted on the walls of the underpass. The writing in the letters was illegible and the words garbled. The devices first appeared on the MP side on January 21, at Suhagi, followed by two more at Gangev on January 26, and a fourth at Mauganj on January 29.
Since the devices had circuits and timers, and only the absence of explosives stopped them from being classified as bombs--the MP police called in the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). Police on both sides are in touch with each other and trying to get to the bottom of the case. They have had no luck so far. "We are probing all angles since the matter involves the UP CM and we should be able to solve it soon," said the MP ATS chief Dr Ashish IPS.
With election due in UP, the MP police are being extra vigilant in the border regions. "There is a pattern we have observed in the planting of the device. It is localised around highways and the letter accompanying it is designed to attract media attention. There are other clues we have and are confident that the culprit will be caught," said the Rewa SP Navnit Bhasin, who is coordinating the investigation.
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