RDX used in HC blast points to Pak

The findings of a reputed forensic laboratory in Gujarat point to the involvement of terror groups across the border in the September 7 Delhi high court blast that killed 15 people and injured scores of others.

The Gujarat Forensic Sciences Laboratory (GFSL) has concluded that high intensity explosive RDX was mixed with ammonium nitrate to make the bomb, top government sources said.

Investigators are now tracing the RDX trail and the possible involvement of a pan-Islamic jihadist group with local linkages. During 2005-2007, the Indian Mujahideen terror group used RDX brought by Harkat-ul-Jehad al-Islami terrorist-cum-courier Babu Bhai from Bangladesh with delivery instructions from Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terror outfit.

The sources said the explosive used for the September 7 attack was different from all other bombs used by terrorists since the Jama Masjid car bomb fizzled out in the attempted strike in September 2010.

The GFSL, trusted by investigative agencies for its due diligence, found that the device used in the July 13 serials blasts in Mumbai that killed at least 36 people contained only ammonium nitrate fuel oil (ANFO) mixture.

The improvised explosive devices used at Sheetla Ghat in Varanasi on December 10, 2010 and the unexploded bomb found outside the Delhi high court on March 25 this year also contained the same ANFO mixture.

Counter-terror experts said that while a large ball of fire followed the July 13 Mumbai explosions, the recent Delhi high court blast was different — with victims being killed by the sheer impact of the explosion, which left soot on the spot and on stone slabs in the reception.

While other forensic laboratories have differed with the GFSL on the Delhi and Mumbai blast findings, the home ministry and the investigative agencies have placed their trust in the Gujarat laboratory.