The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday suspected that the low-intensity explosion at the District Court Complex in the city on August 1 could be a terrorist act.
The explosion at Mysuru is said to be similar to the ones reported recently from courts premises in Kollam in Kerala and Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh.
According to NIA sources, the crude bomb that exploded in a toilet on court complex is normally used by terrorists to kill people. The NIA suspects that the main target of those who executed the blast might have been the general public as the level crossing next to the court complex closes between 4.05 and 4.20 daily when Tirupati Fast Passenger Express passes through the area.
During that time, a large number of vehicles stop at the railway crossing. As the train was delayed by 10 minutes on August 1, the bomb might have been placed in the toilet, the sources said.
The NIA’s Assistant Commissioner of Police Lakshmikanth and team made enquiries with civic workers Girijamma and her husband Mahadevaswamy who regularly clean the toilet on the court premises.
However, on Monday they decided to have tea at the canteen before cleaning the toilet and were at the canteen when the explosion took place. It is said that their son Krishna came in search of them when the blast occurred. Krishna lodged a complaint with the Lakshmipuram police.
The NIA has also inspected the chemicals used to clean the toilet. A team from the Intelligence Bureau, New Delhi led by its Assistant Director Joshi inspected the blast spot for nearly two hours on Wednesday and collected the samples and some materials recovered by the local police from the scene. The police teams from Tamil Nadu and Andra Pradesh which had come for investigation have returned to their respective states.
Meanwhile, the Mysuru police, who are also investigating the case, have collected footage from CCTV cameras installed at a shop near the blast spot. A team led by ACP (Krishnaraja sub-division) Mallik will leave for other states for investigation.