Police detain four in connection with German Bakery blast probe

Pune, Feb 16 (ANI): Maharashtra Police has detained four people in connection with the blast that ripped the German Bakery here on Saturday at around 7 p.m.

Two suspects were picked up from Kudalwadi and Janawadi areas of the city, while the other two suspects were detained in Aurangabad.

The four were detained on Monday night, and the police have also been questioning several people in this regard.

Pune Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh had on Monday said that the investigation into Saturday's blast was progressing in the right direction, but declined to provide any details of the lead obtained so far.

Pune police is however, awaiting forensic experts' report determining the nature of the device used in the blast.

Meanwhile, the daughter of the owner of the German Bakery, where the blast took place has claimed that the bakery has its own CCTV footages.

Investigating agencies are already examining the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) footage that was obtained of the front area of German Bakery, and are hoping that the footages captured by the CCTV cameras would provide them important clues to the whole incident.

Sources had earlier claimed the CCTV footage of the German Bakery at the time of the blast, reveals vital clues.

Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has taken the possession of the footage and is monitoring the images along with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) from Delhi.

The Pune Police is collecting eyewitness accounts of the suspicious duo spotted in the CCTV footage.

The blast in Pune was reportedly triggered as part of what is called the Karachi Project planned by the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT).

The details of the alleged Karachi Project were revealed by the arrested suspected Lashkar operative David Coleman Headley to the USA's Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Headley had recced areas in Pune near the blast site.

He had reportedly also recced other cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Pushkar and Goa, staying close to Jewish prayer centres in these cities.

Union Home Secretary G K Pillai has said that there is definitely a Headley link since he stayed at Osho Ashram, which was close to the German Baker.

Headley had spoken of an ISI-sponsored 'Karachi Project' to take away Indian youth to Pakistan and indoctrinate them to carry out terror attacks in India, added Pillai.

"We cannot rule out or rule in the possibility of the involvement of foreign hands in Pune blast," Pillai said adding that the investigators were on their job and the government needed some time to break the case.

The bomb, which killed nine people and wounded at least 57, is seen as the first major attack on India since the 2008 Mumbai massacre and appeared to target Indian and foreign tourists. (ANI)