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Home  » News » Varanasi blasts probe pick up momentum

Varanasi blasts probe pick up momentum

By Sanjay Pandey in Varanasi
March 09, 2006 20:40 IST
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Investigation into the twin blasts in Varanasi picked up momentum Thursday with police releasing sketches of two suspected terrorists and examining the videotape of a marriage ceremony in the Sankat Mochan temple during the time of the explosion to identify a suspicious looking figure.

Police were also scouring through details of telephone calls made to Pakistan, Kashmir and Dhaka from two public call offices before and after the twin blasts that left 20 people dead and 50 injured.

The description of the caller given by the owner of the PCO to investigating agencies was almost similar to that given by two shopkeepers of Godoulia market on whose basis sketches were drawn of the suspected terrorists.

Senior Superintendent of Police of Varanasi Navneet Sikera claimed the sketches were 90-95 per cent correct and the two suspects spoke like traders from Delhi or western Uttar Pradesh and appeared to be Kashmiris.

"Definitely, this is a good lead for us because the eye witnesses have not only seen them, but also interacted with them," he said.

Investigators also examined the video cassette of a marriage ceremony that was taking place when a powerful bomb exploded in the Sankat Mochan temple to identify the attackers and have picked up some fingerprints from the sites.

There was a figure in the tape, which was yet to be identified and appeared to be suspicious, Sikera said.

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Sanjay Pandey in Varanasi
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