Investigators clutch at straws as Delhi blast toll mounts to 13
09 Sep 2011
Amid conflicting claims of responsibility for the blast outside the Delhi High Court on Wednesday which has now left 13 people dead, the National Investigation Agency – in primary charge of the probe – has roped in anti-terrorist squads from the neighbouring states for help.
On Thursday, two of the 75 people injured in the attack - Pramod Chaurasia, 40, and P Patro, 58 - died, pushing up the toll to 13 (See: Blast outside Delhi HC leaves 11 dead, over 60 injured).
Chaurasia died due to post-surgical infection and while Patro had two heart attacks.
Although six persons have been arrested for questioning, the authorities are essentially clueless about the perpetrators – none of the arrested persons seem to have even a remote connection with the blast.
The arrival of a fresh email - purportedly from the Indian Mujahideen (IM), after an earlier Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HuJI) email claiming responsibility for the carnage - the NIA has widened the probe from Kishtwar in Kashmir to an undisclosed village in western Uttar Pradesh.
The email from IM sent to TV news channels on Thursday refuted the HuJI claim for the blast, and threatened an attack outside a shopping mall next Tuesday, daring security forces to stop them.
