HYDERABAD, India, 22 May 2007 — The Hyderabad City Police yesterday constituted a Special Investigation Team under Joint Commissioner (Special Branch) Harish Kumar Gupta to probe Friday’s bomb blast at the historic Makkah Masjid in the city.
Making this announcement, City Police Commissioner Balwinder Singh said that the SIT would submit its preliminary findings within a week. He said that the forensic report on the blast and the unexploded bombs recovered from the mosque has been received from the AP Forensic Science Laboratories but the findings could not be disclosed as a magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the incident.
He said that the cell phone and other materials recovered from the water pool in the mosque on Sunday have also been sent to the forensic science labs for examination. Replying to questions, Singh said that no one was arrested in connection with the incident so far. He also scotched media reports that a team of the Hyderabad police has been sent to West Bengal.
Meanwhile, Islamic groups warned police that there would be a violent backlash if they arrested innocent Muslims while investigating the bombing.
Also yesterday, an attack was foiled when police in the eastern city of Kolkata found four bombs on a train set to depart for a Hindu pilgrimage site yesterday, police said.
In Hyderabad, investigators continued to search for clues into the blast and were waiting for forensic reports on two unexploded bombs found at the scene. Eleven people died in the blast, while another five were killed when clashes erupted between security officials and protesters after the blast and police opened fire on stone-throwing crowds.
“If innocent Muslims are arrested in the name of an investigation into the blasts the situation might explode,” warned Maulana Hamiduddin Auquil Hussami, a cleric who heads the United Action Committee, an umbrella organization of Muslim groups.
Hyderabad, a city of 7 million people, about 40 percent of whom are Muslim, has long been plagued by communal tensions - and occasional inter-religious bloodletting.
Police said they had some leads, but declined to speculate on the identity of the bombers. “We have some clues both in the form of intelligence and physical evidence gathered from the spot,” Singh told reporters. “Investigations are on, and we hope to get a clear picture within a week.”
The United Action Committee was scheduled to meet with Y. S. Rajasekhar Reddy, the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh state, to demand an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation. The committee says local police cannot be trusted to conduct the investigation.
The committee also demanded an investigation into a police shooting that followed the attack on the mosque. “Police have shown their hatred of Muslims by opening indiscriminate fire after the blast when the community was already hurt by the mosque blast,” said Asaduddin Owaisi, a Muslim federal lawmaker.
