MUMBAI, 9 June 2008 — Police have ruled out the possibility of Muslim involvement in the twin bomb blasts last week at auditoriums in Navi Mumbai and adjoining Thane district.
The state intelligence department and police from the two cities have zeroed in on activists of the Hindu militant organization Bajrang Dal.
Police suspicion fell on Bajrang Dal because activists of the organization forcibly stopped a Marathi play directed by Sanjay Pawar four years ago. “Aamhi Pachpute” highlighted the problems posed by the influx of migrants into Mumbai and Maharashtra.
Another fact that linked the two incidents was that the unexploded bomb was similar to the one that exploded at Gadkari Rangayatan auditorium in Thane.
Police in both Navi Mumbai and Thane are tight-lipped over who could be behind the blasts. Police feel that the Marathi play that had contained criticism of an ethnic community was the intended target of some local gangs. The explosions were intended to create tension between the Marathi and other communities.
Police officers connected with the investigation of the case feel that ammonium nitrate used in the explosions could have been brought from quarries in Navi Mumbai.
Thane Joint Commissioner of Police Madhukar Shinde confirmed that the explosions at Navi Mumbai and Thane were the result of low intensity bombs. He, however, did not want to speculate on the identity of the people behind the blasts.
Police were continuing with the probe and hope to arrest people responsible for the explosions.
